Marriage - Letter To Parliamentarians (focus)

D E D I C A T E D TO T H E P R E S E R V A T I O N O F T H E H O M E

SO UTHE RN AFRI CA

Member of Parliament National Assembly Parliament of the Republic of South Africa PO Box 15 Cape Town 8000 Dear Member of Parliament Why support marriage as between a man and a woman only? Please find enclosed a copy of the book ‘Marriage on Trial’, which we believe is the best book to answer your questions on why we need to recognise marriage as between a man and a woman only. On the 17 May 2005, the Constitutional Court will consider whether marriage should be re-defined to include samesex unions. The issue may be referred to parliament by the Court or via the SA Law Reform Commission and/or be debated as a Constitutional Amendment. As a political leader, you are likely to be asked your opinion on the issue to help formulate party policy; in media debate; by your constituents and ultimately to vote. Apart from moral reasons, the state needs to protect marriage because it uplifts society. Studies show that children with both a mother and a father are more successful. They do better at school, are healthier and have less risk of getting into crime and other problems that are costly and difficult for the state to solve. Millions of South Africans have been helped by Focus on the Family Southern Africa’s various projects to strengthen marriage and families. Government has also supported initiatives like Moral Regeneration and the 10th Anniversary of the Year of the Family. Calling something ‘marriage’ which is not, undermines respect for real marriage. Less respect means fewer people get married; more divorce and more children are born outside of marriage. The Netherlands, the first to recognise so-called ‘same-sex marriage’, has doubled births outside of marriage since court cases began. Unlike Holland, South Africa doesn’t have comprehensive state social services and is struggling to cope with the AIDS epidemic. Re-defining marriage would worsen this. It is a dangerous social engineering experiment which, like apartheid, will fail with disastrous results. In Holland, Sweden and Canada religious freedom has already suffered, as homosexual militants try to silence opposition and redefine morality as discrimination. We urge you to inform yourself by reading this well-written book. Sincerely,

Malcolm St.Clair CEO, Focus on the Family South Africa PRIVATE BAG X1023, HILLCREST, 3650, KWAZULU NATAL. TEL: (031) 7163300 FAX: (031) 7163343 Registration no. 1993/006937/08 E-MAIL: [email protected] www.safamily.co.za