By Allie Martin and Jenni Parker

(AgapePress) - Pro-family activists were joined by several black pastors during a press conference yesterday in Washington, DC, expressing support for a biblical view of marriage. According to one pro-family leader, their presence sent a strong message that traditional marriage defenders will not let homosexual activists hijack the civil rights movement for their cause.

Among the speakers at Tuesday's Capitol Hill press conference were Gary Bauer of the Campaign for Working Families, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, and Paul Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation. Several African American pastors spoke out as well, saying they represent a coalition of black churches dedicated to preserving marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Gary Bauer

Gary Bauer points out that most members of the black community in the U.S. support the biblical view of marriage. "The polling data shows that African Americans in this country overwhelmingly reject same-sex marriage," he says, "and the African American pastors were very strong in making that point."

Bauer notes that there have been attempts by radical activists to hijack the civil rights movement in order to promote same-sex marriage, but he says this attempt will not succeed. He believes the participation of these African American pastors in the fight to defend traditional marriage is extremely important for the pro-family movement because it "helps to dispel one of the great lies of the left -- that homosexual 'marriage' is a civil rights issue."

The pro-family spokesman says the move to legalize same-sex marriage cannot be compared to the push for civil rights in America during the 1960s. "It is not bigotry to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman," he says, "and it is not discriminatory to understand that our children -- for as many of them as we can possibly provide this -- all of them need a mother and a father."

According to Bauer, the African American pastors who took part in the press conference have expressed willingness to put aside partisanship for the greater good of the nation's families and children. He commends their courage in standing up for moral order in defiance of many political leaders on the left.

Standing Up for Marriage Down Under
In related news, the government of Australia recently announced legislative plans to protect the traditional definition of marriage in that country. The lawmakers in that country have undertaken this in part to pre-empt the plans of some Australian homosexual couples meaning to travel overseas to wed in the hope of having their "marriages" recognized by their own nation's law after the fact.

"In other words," Bauer says, "the Australian government is taking action to prevent the importation of homosexual 'marriages' from Massachusetts!" He adds, "If only our politicians had the same courage."

Moreover, Australia's lawmakers are taking action to ban same-sex adoptions. As the government's Attorney General Philip Ruddock stated, "In the view of the vast majority of Australians, children have the right, all other things being equal, to have the opportunity to be raised by a mother and a father."

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