At its 181st annual meeting,
North Carolina Baptists approved a resolution in support of a
proposed state constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage.
Voters in May will decided on the
far-reaching amendment that would make it unconstitutional for North
Carolina to recognize gay and lesbian couples with marriage, civil
unions and possibly even domestic partnerships.
The Baptist State Convention of North
Carolina (BSCNC) held its meeting earlier this week in Greensboro.
The resolution was brought by Jim
Jacumin, a member of the BSCNC board of directors.
The
resolution states that “Marriage originated from God,
established in the order of creation to be a permanent union of one
man with one woman” and that “Jesus reaffirmed the origin of
marriage in the order of creation.”
It suggests that gay marriage would
hurt the family, children, and North Carolina's reputation and
“economic viability.”
The non-binding statement also called
on the state's churches to “pray faithfully against the
legalization of same-sex marriages or marriage substitutes in
American law.”
“We call upon all the churches of the
Baptist State Convention to vigorously organize a strong effort among
their members to support passage of the Marriage Amendment ...”
More than 1,700 messengers and 130
visitors attended the two day event.