WORLD CONGRESS OF FAMILIES APPLAUDS AUSTRALIAN MOVE TO DEFINE MARRIAGE

Allan Carlson, founder of the World Congress of Families (and president of the Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society) congratulated the Australian Family Association for putting the traditional definition of marriage on the fast track to legislative approval in Australia.

Declaring “the movement to save marriage is truly international in scope,” Carlson noted that the association has secured the support of both Prime Minister John Howard and the opposition Labor Party for a bill now pending in parliament to amend the nation’s Marriage Act of 1961.

This amendment would define marriage as “the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.” It also explicitly prohibits the recognition of overseas marriages between “a man and a man” or “a woman and a woman” and prohibits the facilitation of overseas adoption by Australian same-sex couples. Action in the lower house is expected before parliament adjourns on June 24.

The move is preemptive, as two judges on Australia’s seven-person High Court have already expressed support for homosexual marriage. Also, several gay couples have announced their intention to sue to have their foreign “marriages” legally recognized in Australia.

“Like the Federal Marriage amendment in the United States, the Australian bill is defensive,” Carlson said. “It takes the definition of marriage out of the hands of judges and put it where it properly belongs – with the nation’s elected legislature.”

Carlson added: “Same-sex marriage, so-called, would be a major step toward the deconstruction of marriage. Close on its heels will come polygamy, group marriage, marriage between blood relations and de-criminalizing adult/child sex. The very survival of the natural family is at stake.”

The Declaration of World Congress of Families III in Mexico City (March 29-31) – attended by over 3,300 delegates from more than 70 nations – defined the natural family as “the fundamental social unit, inscribed in human nature, and centered on the union of a man and a woman in the lifelong covenant of marriage.”

Carlson noted: “Same-sex marriage is part of a broader phenomenon. The weakening of the Western family, over the past half century, has made it susceptible to such fatal fads.”

The April issue of the Howard Center’s monthly publication (The Family In America) had a lead article titled, “Why Homosexuals Want What Marriage Has Now Become.” In it, author Bryce Christensen, explained: “Most homosexual couples now seeking to be married are doing so precisely because so much of the traditional freight of marriage – complementary gender roles, work in a real home economy, childbearing, sexual fidelity, permanence – has been thrown overboard as the marital ship has settled ever lower in the water.” (contact the Howard Center at 1-800-461-3113 to receive a copy of this issue of Family In America)

The World Congress of Families is helping to coordinate international efforts to save the natural family from homosexual marriage. Please visit www.worldcongress.org and www.profam.org for the latest news and information.