News
Featured Image
LifeSiteNews editor-in-chief John-Henry Westen speaks at this morning's press conference.

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 1, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – The U.S. Supreme Court's marriage decision last week puts America's religious liberty at risk, said 11 groups who defended that liberty today in front of the Court's steps. 

In a press conference at 10:00 this morning, LifeSiteNews and 10 leading marriage, family, and traditional values organizations highlighted the potential ramifications of the Supreme Court's ruling.

LifeSiteNews Editor-in-Chief John-Henry Westen said that while many Americans dismiss the threat redefining marriage brings to freedom in America, modern international history shows it is a real concern.

“In Ireland, churches face fines for not letting same-sex couples have ceremonies on church property,” he said. “In France, negative speech against homosexuality is banned.”

Several organizations joined LifeSiteNews to discuss the Court's impact on liberty and America's future, including representatives of American Life League, CitizenGo, 2nd Vote, the Cardinal Newman Society, International Human Rights Group, and the Lepanto Institute.

Read the statements from the leaders here.

Gualberto Garcia Jones, the Executive Director of the International Human Rights Group and the Latin American Bureau Chief for LifeSiteNews’ Spanish and Portuguese website NotiFam.com, expressed his concerns about the legislative ramifications of the ruling.

“As a lawyer, I am shocked that the highest court in the land has definitively abandoned its role as arbiters of cases and controversies before them in order to become a super legislature of enlightened social engineers,” said Garcia Jones.

“Christian America is under siege by the forces of secularism. …There is no doubt that the advocates of same sex marriage will attempt to use the full force of the US Government to force Christians to secularize.”

Several group leaders not present provided statements in support of marriage and liberty: Ruth Institute president Dr. Jennifer Morse, Human Life International president Father Shenan J. Boquet, and Right Wing News founder John Hawkins.

California State Northridge Professor Robert Oscar Lopez, a bisexual man raised by same-sex parents, also provided a statement on behalf of himself and five other members of the International Children's Rights Institute who filed pro-marriage amicus briefs with the Supreme Court.

Scott Schittl, campaigns director for the English language division of CitizenGo, encouraged additional engagement on the part of conservatives.

“We, conservatives and people of faith, must work like never before to reach out to our natural constituencies,” said Schittl. “And, we must make effective use of organizations who use the latest technologies to affect political, economic and moral outcomes in our interconnected society.”

“Put in stark relief by the Supreme Court’s decision, I sincerely believe that there are huge numbers of people who are now, and who will be in greater and greater numbers in the future, wanting to engage with us because they are interested in their own religious freedom,” Schittl predicted.