So said the Rev. Randy Orwig, pastor of Tidewater United Church of Christ in Virginia Beach. The topic was the so-called Marriage Amendment. Rev. Orwig is an opponent of the measure. Today, he rallied nearly two dozen ministers and priests to sign a statement opposing the amendment, which they call an “arrogant attempt” to write discrimination into the constitution.
Rev. Orwig put together today’s press conference in response to a rally by the Tidewater Pastors Council, a group that favors the amendment.
“This issue of gays and lesbians and their place in society has been tearing up our churches,” Orwig said. “But there’s this notion that Christianity is just the voice for the Pat Robertsons and Jerry Falwells and the evangelicals when there are a great number of clergy who don’t practice that way and live that way. I think we were finally tired and said it’s time to do something.”
The clergy who oppose the amendment attended the pro-amendment rally, to the surprise of the amendment supporters. I guess they thought everyone agreed with them.
One of the supporters was the Rev. William Owens , a Memphis-based preacher. No disrespect, Rev. Owens, but why are you meddling in Virginia affairs? Rev. Owens had this to say:
“I marched with Dr. King. I did not march one foot, one yard, one block, for a man to marry a man or a woman to marry a woman!”
You may have marched, Rev. Owens, but you must not have known the man. As I pointed out in my op-ed, his wife, Coretta, was supportive of gays and believed that Dr. King would have been as well:
My husband … said ‘I have worked too long and hard against segregated public accommodations to end up segregating my moral concern. Justice is indivisible.’ Like Martin, I don’t believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others.
I’d like to thank the Rev. Orwig and his fellow amendment opponents for doing the right thing and standing up to be counted.
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Technorati Tags: Virginia Marriage Amendment, Marshall Newman Amendment
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
It’s about time that every person of conscience spoke out against this abomination of an amendment. BRAVO!
Then let me help. You can count on a NO vote coming from the Squeaky Wheel house. Not to say that I am on the Gay Rights bandwagon (I have some issues with the extreme end of the movement) but as for this Amendment, I am not sold, period.