CHRISTIAN ACTION NETWORK

Oral Submission to the Select Committee on Social Services of the National Council of Provinces

23 November 2006

How the Civil Union Bill would Affect Communities in the Western Cape

Section 1: How Children in the Western Cape Would Be Affected

1.1 Future generations of children would suffer the most. Firstly, those ‘born’ to homosexual couples through artificial insemination, or those adopted by same sex couples, would grow up without either a mother or a father. The following statistics show the tragic consequences of fatherless and single parent homes in the United States:

· 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes.
· 85% of all children that exhibit behavioural disorders come from fatherless homes.
· 80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes.
· 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes.
· 75% of all adolescent patients in drug abuse centres come from fatherless homes.
· 85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home.

While this applies to children who grow up in fatherless homes, mothers are equally important in the lives of children and the results of motherless homes are equally tragic.

The father-mother-child bond makes it illogical to maintain that a homosexual union matches marriage in its benefit to society.

1.2 Secondly, children growing up with same sex parents or seeing and hearing about homosexual marriages may become confused about their own gender identity and roles. Children need the role models of both parents to become good parents themselves.

Section 2: How Marriages and Families in the Western Cape Would be Affected

2.1 Changing the definition of marriage will further contribute to the belief that marriage is just a contract based on emotions, not a covenant commitment made in the sight of God, based on love, expressed through sacrificial service. In short, if marriage can be distorted to mean anything, then, in the minds of future generations, it will further deteriorate to mean absolutely nothing.

2.2 Communities in the Western Cape are already being destroyed by drugs, alcoholism, gangsterism, crime and pornography. Legalising same sex marriages would not strengthen families, it would destroy future ones, as indicated by the above statistics. It is not fair to encourage public policy that encourages this social engineering and pretends that homosexual “families” are normal, healthy and desirable. Instead, public policy should work toward mitigating the harmful effects of divorce and parenting that results in motherless or fatherless homes, not promoting it!

Laws are not just nice, harmless ideas for the populace to consider. For those millions who do not have a set moral standard, the laws often become their moral measure. As adultery and pornography have been decriminalized, many more people indulge in these destructive activities – their rationale is: if government legalises it, then it must be acceptable. Similarly, more people will experiment with homosexuality and even enter into “partnerships or unions” because it is legal.

Summary

Should this Bill go through, we will be giving special status in our national consciousness to “families” that deny children either a mother or a father. Future generations of children would tell us the truth that growing up without either a mom or a dad was a terrible mistake. The liberal French parliament earlier this year ruled against same-sex marriages to protect children, citing article 7 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. “Children represent the future of society. They “must not suffer from conditions imposed upon them by adults… The best interests of the child must prevail over adult freedoms… even including the lifestyle choices of parents.”

If there was a Referendum in South Africa, or if provincial parliaments had more power to make laws, there is no doubt that they would vote overwhelmingly against homosexual “marriage”.

Lastly, we need to remind you that if this bill goes through, it will contribute to Cape Town becoming another Sodom or Gomorrah. God destroyed these cities by fire because of their rampant homosexuality. The prophet Isaiah said, and I quote, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, …woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.”

If the Civil Union Bill is passed, it will be with the most dire consequences for the government which is leading this onslaught against God’s moral Law and plan for human beings.

We reject the Civil Union Bill as unhealthy, unnatural and destructive to civilized society. We call for a constitutional amendment to protect the traditional definition of marriage as being a covenant between one man and one woman for – for life.

Taryn Hodgson Dr Peter Hammond

National Co-ordinator Director