A group of prominent Christian leaders have threatened civil disobedience based on Biblical principles should the the Supreme Court choose to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, Pastor John Hagee, and Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse are among a group of religious leaders who have signed the pledge, titled "Pledge in Solidarity to Defend Marriage," which highlights their belief in traditional marriage.
"We respectfully warn the Supreme Court not to cross that line," reads the document. "We stand united together in defense of marriage. Make no mistake about our resolve."
The pledge continues, "While there are many things we can endure, redefining marriage is so fundamental to the natural order and the common good that this is the line we must draw and one we cannot and will not cross."
After two and a half hours, oral arguments presented before the Supreme Court regarding whether states should be constitutionally obligated to issue same-sex marriage licenses ended on Tuesday.
According to the New York Times, the Supreme Court's decision in June is likely to come down to a narrow 5-4 vote, and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy has been named as the justice who is likely to decide which way the court leans in making the decision as to whether the 14th Amendment requires states to uphold same-sex marriages and validate same-sex marriage licenses given out by other states.
"We're sending a warning to the Supreme Court and frankly any court that crosses the line on the issue of marriage," Mat Staver, the founder of Liberty Counsel and co-drafter of the pledge, told Fox News contributor Todd Starnes.
"I'm talking about civil disobedience," Staver added. "I'm talking about resistance and I'm talking about peaceful resistance against unjust laws and unjust rulings...We have no choice. We cannot compromise our clear biblical convictions, our religious convictions."
He continued, "I'm calling for people to not recognize the legitimacy of that ruling because it's not grounded in the Rule of Law...They need to resist that ruling in every way possible. In a peaceful way - they need to resist it as much as Martin Luther King, Jr. resisted unjust laws in his time."
Rev. Graham has also issued a strong response to the possibility of legalizing same-sex marriage, insisting there is "no argument" regarding what God ordained.
"God is the One who made us male and female, and He defines marriage as between one man and one woman," he wrote in a Facebook post published on Tuesday. "There is no argument with what God has ordained. It is shameful that our country has declined so much morally that our courts are confused and would even hear this argument. Join me in praying that God would intervene and give these justices a glimpse of His heart and that they would make this decision based on His standards. Remember, two men cannot make a child; two women cannot make a child. This is a fact. Everyone alive today is the result of the union of a man and a woman. It is just simple biology, and the courts can't change that."
Rick Scarborough, the president of Vision America, said the pledge is meant clear: religious leaders will choose to follow Biblical principles regardless of what the Supreme Court chooses to do.
"We're facing a real Constitutional crisis if the Supreme Court rules adversely from our perspective on same-sex marriage," he told Starnes. For me there's no option. I'm going to choose to serve the Lord. And I think that thousands of other pastors will take that position and hundreds of thousands - if not millions of Christians."
