Southern Baptists meeting in New
Orleans on Wednesday approved a resolution in support of defining
marriage as a heterosexual union.
The vote during the denomination's
annual meeting was nearly unanimous, the AP reported.
The resolution affirms their belief
that marriage is “the exclusive union of one man and one woman”
and that “all sexual behavior outside of marriage is sinful.”
It also declares that the struggles of
gay men and lesbians lack the “distinguishing features of classes
entitled to special protections.”
“It is regrettable that homosexual
rights activists and those who are promoting the recognition of
'same-sex marriage' have misappropriated the rhetoric of the Civil
Rights Movement,” the resolution states.
The thousands of delegates attending
the meeting also approved a resolution claiming to protect religious
liberty. The resolution, also approved on Wednesday, calls on the
Department of Justice to stop its efforts to overturn the Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA), which bans gay marriage, and for the Obama
administration to approve policies ensuring that military personnel
and chaplains opposed to homosexuality can freely express their
religious convictions.