(Gen 2:23-24 KJV) And Adam said, This is now bone of my
bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken
out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall
cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Marriage is defined by the
sure prophecy of Adam as the Head of the human race when he was in a state of
innocence. This is why John Calvin, the premiere theologian of colonial
American religion could say:
"But let us recollect
that whatever annoyances belong to marriage are accidental, for they arise out
of the depravity of man. Let us remember that, since our nature was corrupted,
marriage began to be a medicine, and therefore we need not wonder if it have a
bitter taste mixed with its sweetness. But we must see how our Lord confutes
this folly." - http://bit.ly/1efFQ8H
or http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom32.ii.lxviii.html?highlight=annoyances#highlight
But more recently in our
Nation: Godlessness and Lawlessness
March On!
Justice Department to give married same-sex couples sweeping equal
protection
The Washington Post http://wapo.st/1iNuoFR
By Sari Horwitz, Published: February 8
Under the Justice Department policy, federal inmates in same-sex
marriages will also be entitled to the same rights and privileges as inmates in
heterosexual marriages, including visitation by a spouse, escorted trips to
attend a spouse’s funeral, correspondence with a spouse, and compassionate
release or reduction in sentence based on the incapacitation of an inmate’s
spouse.
In addition, an inmate in a same-sex marriage can be furloughed to be
present during a crisis involving a spouse. In bankruptcy cases, same-sex
married couples will be eligible to file for bankruptcy jointly. Domestic
support obligations will include debts, such as alimony, owed to a former same-sex
spouse. Certain debts to same-sex spouses or former spouses should be excepted
from discharge.
“This means that, in every courthouse, in every proceeding and in every
place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the
United States — they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the
same privileges, protections, and rights as opposite-sex marriages under
federal law,” Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said in a speech Saturday
night at the Human Rights Campaign’s Greater New York Gala at the Waldorf
Astoria in New York, where he announced the new policy.
“This landmark announcement will change the lives of countless
committed gay and lesbian couples for the better,” Human Rights Campaign
President Chad Griffin said in a statement. “While the immediate effect of
these policy decisions is that all married gay couples will be treated equally
under the law, the long-term effects are more profound. Today, our nation moves
closer toward its ideals of equality and fairness for all.”
The Justice Department’s new policy comes three years after it said it
would not defend cases in court involving the Defense of Marriage Act anymore.
Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that a key part of DOMA was unconstitutional
.
The ruling “marked a major victory for the cause of equal protection
under U.S. law, and a significant step forward for committed and loving couples
throughout the country,” Holder said Tuesday in Sweden during an address to the
Swedish parliament.
In January, Holder intervened in the legal battle over same-sex
marriage in Utah and announced that the more than 1,300 same-sex marriages that
took place there in December and January are considered legal under federal
law, even though a step by the Supreme Court cast doubt on the marriages and
state officials would not recognize those unions.
On Saturday, the National Organization for Marriage released a
statement decrying the policy move.
“This is just the latest in a series of moves by the Obama
administration, and in particular the Department of Justice, to undermine the
authority and sovereignty of the states to make their own determinations
regulating the institution of marriage,” Brian Brown, the group’s president,
said in the statement. “The American public needs to realize how egregious and
how dangerous these usurpations are and how far-reaching the implications can
be. The changes being proposed here . . . serve as a potent reminder of why it
is simply a lie to say that redefining marriage doesn’t affect everyone in
society.”
The Justice Department has already approved policy changes by other
federal agencies to extend federal benefits to same-sex married couples.
Last summer, the Office of Personnel Management announced that federal
employees in same-sex marriages could apply for health, dental, life, long-term
care and retirement benefits. The Department of Health and Human Services said
that legally married same-sex seniors on Medicare would be eligible for equal
benefits and joint placement in nursing homes.
The Social Security Administration will pay death benefits to survivors
of a same-sex marriage. The Department of Homeland Security will treat same-sex
spouses equally for the purposes of obtaining a green card if the spouse is a
foreign national. And the IRS has begun treating same-sex marriages equally for
tax-filing purposes.
“We are, right now, in the middle of marking a number of 50-year
anniversaries of key milestones in the civil rights movement,” Holder said
Saturday night. “And yet, as all-
important as the fight against racial discrimination was then, and
remains today, know this: My commitment to confronting discrimination based on
sexual orientation or gender identity runs just as deep.”
Holder made a similar statement in favor of expanding LGBT rights in
Sweden on Tuesday.
The new policy will have “important, real-world implications for
same-sex married couples that interact with the criminal justice system,”
Holder said.
The Justice Department will also recognize same-sex couples in a number
of key benefits programs it administers, such as the Radiation Exposure
Compensation Program, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and the
Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program, which provides death benefits and
educational benefits to surviving spouses of public safety officers.
“This program is one way that we, as a country, stand by the families
of those who put themselves in harm’s way to keep our communities safe, and we
must never do that selectively,” Holder said. “When any law enforcement officer
falls in the line of duty or is gravely injured, the federal government should
stand by that hero’s spouse — no matter whether that spouse is straight or
gay.”
I2C 140209b Gen 2v23to24 Adam vs O and Holder /
I2C / 140209 2126 / Gen 2:23-24 Adam vs. O and Holder / Godlessness and
Lawlessness March On!
