The following is an article from www.christianity.ca regarding the change of marriage act that is set to go in effect in June 2005. Ten Canadian Lebanese community groups speak out against any change inthe traditional definition of marriage.*/Let us keep the definition of marriage as is!/*The Supreme Court of Canada, in its ruling on December 09, 2004 to leavethe decision of whether to legalize same-sex marriage up to Parliament,has stated that the federal government has the jurisdiction to legislatethe civil definition of marriage and that the government had theconstitutional authority to expand the definition of marriage to includesame-sex couples."If you stay silent, there will soon be a law to make sure that youremain silent ... "The instant response of the Liberal Government asserted that the matterwill be left to Parliament to decide on next month, and that it supportsthe change in the marriage definition to include "same-sex marriage."The below-listed Canadian Lebanese Community groups, advocates of humanrights, sanctity of the institution of marriage, faith in Almighty Godand the respect of human rights, strongly believe that any hastymeddling in the traditional definition of marriage will progressivelylead to negative social and moral repercussions that will weaken thestability of the Canadian family, which is the foundation and thesafeguard of the our society.We call on all Members of Parliament to vote for keeping the definitionof marriage as is, and to give same-sex marriage a different title thatdoes not include the term "marriage."Marriage, since Almighty God created man, has been a sacred unionbetween a man and a woman, and this is how it should remain. Allreligions honour the value of marriage and any change in it will be aflagrant insult to the followers of all religions.Our groups will send this release to all Members of Parliament makingthem aware of the solid and clear stance of the Canadian LebaneseCommunity in honouring the traditional definition of marriage. Membersof our community will not vote for any candidate who votes for changingthis definition.Our country Canada, which is known as the Dominion of Canada, was builtby men and women of great faith. It did not come into existence througha war, but rather through a series of meetings and dinners withspeeches, presentations, food and music. During those meetings anddinners which took place in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, onSeptember 1, 1864, the draft terms of the /British North America Act/were discussed. That week, one of the founding fathers of Canada, SirSamuel Leonard Tilley, then Premier of New Brunswick, was reading theBible. He came across the following verse in Psalm 72: "In His days mayrighteousness flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more! MayHe have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of theearth" /(Psalm/ /72: 7-8)/.This verse struck him as a perfect description of what he and our otherfounding fathers wanted this new country to be. They wanted Canada to beunder God's dominion from shining sea to shining sea. From that time,the verse "May He have dominion from sea to sea" became an indeliblepart of our Canadian heritage, and has served as a reference point forour nation's identity. In fact, to this day, Canada's official mottoreads: "A Mari Usque Ad Mare," meaning "From sea to sea" as a testimonyto a sacred heritage that recognizes God's dominion. Will proclaiming orbelieving in that dominion now be considered old fashioned?We further believe that this pivotal social-ethical matter should onlybe decided by the people of Canada through a clearly worded referendum,not by the courts or Parliament.We are at a critical point in our nation's history. We should not andmust not remain silent and leave others to decide on our behalf whatnegates our beliefs, values and family unity.To those who oppose the proposed change in the definition of marriage wesay: "If you stay silent, there will soon be a law to make sure that youremain silent. Let your voices be heard loudly and clearly beforevictory is gained by those who prefer to see you silenced forever."Originally published in the News & Views Newsletter, April 4, 2005__________________________________________________I have no idea what will become of my country if this law goes into effect. As a voter and one of the majority who is against this type of lifestyle, what Parliment is doing is against democracy. Since when does the minority speak for the majority of Canada? or any democratic nation?What I don't understand is if the Liberal government which is a minority government this time around wants to get votes, wouldn't it be wise to get it from the majority?Karl
