‘Civil war’ possible if US Supremes okay gay marriage: lawyer

BY NATASHA BARSOTTI — A lawyer for a conservative, Christian-based organization says “civil war” and the “unravelling of the United States” could be in the offing if the US Supreme Court rules in favour of same-sex marriage, according to rightwingwatch.org

“Basically marriage will be completely destroyed, families will be destroyed, children will be hurt by this and freedom of speech and freedom of religion, including in the pulpit itself, will absolutely be bulldozed over. This would open a floodgate of unimaginable proportions,” Mat Staver predicts.

Staver, head of Liberty Counsel, was speaking to broadcast personality Janet Parshall, whose bio says she “evaluates newsworthy topics with guests and listeners using the Bible as a framework for discussion” on In the Market.

Staver added, “This would be the thing that revolutions are made of. This could split the country right in two. This could cause another civil war. I’m not talking about just people protesting in the streets; this could be that level, because what would ultimately happen is a direct collision would immediately happen with pastors, with churches, with Christians, with Christian ministries, with other businesses. It would be an avalanche that would go across the country.”

He continued, “This could be the Roe versus Wade of marriage and family. If we ultimately say as a court, and if the country follows it, that marriage is between two people of the same sex and it’s not how common sense, history and the Bible ultimately defines it, that has catastrophic consequences.”

Staver’s comments follow those of Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins, who suggested that if the Supreme Court “steps in at this moment and says, ‘We’re redefining marriage. Same-sex marriage is the law in every land,’ . . . I think you will create a firestorm of opposition. I think that could be the straw that broke the camel’s back . . . that you could have — and I hate to use the word — but I mean a revolt, a revolution.”

The US Supreme Court recently announced it will hear arguments in two gay marriage cases — one involving California’s Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage, and another on the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal benefits to legally married gay couples.

Liberty Counsel describes itself as “an international nonprofit litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family.”

 

RightWingWatch calls itself “a project of People for the American Way dedicated to monitoring and exposing the activities of the right-wing movement.”

Natasha Barsotti is originally from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. She had high aspirations of representing her country in Olympic Games sprint events, but after a while the firing of the starting gun proved too much for her nerves. So she went off to university instead. Her first professional love has always been journalism. After pursuing a Master of Journalism at UBC , she began freelancing at Xtra West — now Xtra Vancouver — in 2006, becoming a full-time reporter there in 2008.

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