Australia Upholds Traditional Marriage, World Council of Families Praises Decision

By Myles Collier ("The Christian Post," September 25, 2012)

Extracted from http://wwrn.org/articles/38150/

The World Council of Families has praised the decision by the Australian parliament to vote against same sex marriage, thus reinforcing the importance of traditional marriage and its indispensable place as the foundation for society.

In a vote that was far from close, the Australian parliament voted against a same-sex marriage bill aimed at redefining the historical definition of marriage by a vote of 98 to 42 on Sept. 19. A similar bill was then defeated by the Senate on Sept. 20 by a 41 to 26 vote.

"When the governing Australian Labor Party abandoned its longstanding defense of natural marriage, it was supposed to all be over except for the celebration on the part of homosexual activists," Larry Jacobs, World Congress of Families Managing Director, said in a statement.

"But thanks to the hard work of Australian groups like the National Marriage Coalition, the Australian Family Association, Endeavour Forum, the Dads-4-Kids Foundation, and the intense lobbying of hundreds of thousands of ordinary Australians in behalf of maintaining the historic definition of marriage, 40 percent of Labor MPs in the House joined members of the National and Liberal Parties to defeat this step toward the deconstruction of natural marriage," Jacobs added.

Jacobs then directed attention to the United States, where 31 states have voted for the historical definition of marriage between one man and one woman. One of the partners of the WCF, the National Organization for Marriage, recognized the importance of upholding the traditional definition of marriage.

"Every time the people have had a chance to vote directly on the issue, the only definition of natural marriage that protects children has carried decisively," Jacobs said.

And that is the most important point that people who defend traditional marriage can make- there are no substitutes for a mother and father raising their children.

"Hundreds of social science studies reveal that having a mother and a father is the optimal condition for human thriving. We remove this protection at great risk to many, especially children. Marriage must be protected. The future well-being of children and society depends on it," Kevin Andrews, Member of the Australian Parliament, said in a statement.