Once again, as he does each year, Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan presided at raising the so-called “gay pride” flag over City Hall yesterday. From the City’s official press release on this, here are some of Ryan’s remarks:

“This is a chance to celebrate the many contributions of the LGBTQ [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Queer] community, to reject any and all forms of prejudice, and to declare our commitment to the growing movement that advocates for equal protection under the law for all families,” said Mayor Ryan. Justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and fairness are all guiding principles of my administration, and this occasion embodies them.”

This also from the press release:

Mayor Ryan has been a leading advocate for LGBTQ rights. He was the first Binghamton mayor to raise the Rainbow Flag in honor of LGBTQ Pride month, and last year he signed an executive order recognizing same sex-marriage in the City of Binghamton.

This shows you how far left Matt Ryan is. He is illegally recognizing same-sex marriage in the City–a power not accorded to him under the Constitution of the United States, nor the New York State Constitution, nor the City of Binghamton Charter. He has simply declared himself to have dictatorial powers and has issued an executive order.

Here’s a bit more of Ryan’s viewpoint:

“Governor Paterson and the California Supreme Court have taken the next step toward full rights for the entire LGBTQ community,” said Mayor Ryan. “But a lot of work remains. We must eliminate not just discriminatory laws, but also the violence and hate directed at the LGBTQ community. This affects all of us, and it’s imperative that we all do our part.”

Let me offer a few opinions here. I have worked with and have friends who are gay, so please, no gay-bashing on this blog. Likewise, no comments about how I’m prejudiced or hateful toward anyone. Gays, lesbians and all the other terms they use to describe themselves, are citizens and already have full rights as citizens in this country. Those rights include “inherent rights” endowed on them by our common Creator–life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They also include those few rights enumerated and granted by the United States Constitution–free speech, property ownership, bearing arms, etc. And that’s it. They have the same “rights” we all do.

Those rights do NOT include marriage. Marriage is not a right–it is a privilege and denying it to people who are of the same sex is not prejudiced and does not harm them–it protects the fabric of our society. Our society is undeniably based on Judeo-Christian values. That is, the bible and a belief in God is the foundation, the bedrock, of our society. The God of the bible clearly rejects homosexuality. You must deny the bible and the God who created us in order to support it. Until a few short years ago, most countries on this planet recognized that the building block of society, the very fabric of society, is the family–father, mother, children. You cannot interchangeably replace the roles as father father children, or mother mother children, without lasting harm to that society.

Should same-sex couples be denied a house or an apartment because of their sexual practices? No. Should homosexuals be denied a job because of their sexual practices? No, as long as the place they seek empolyment is not a church or religious organization with an honest objection to immoral sexual practices (which includes not only homo- but heterosexual immorality). Should homosexuals be barred from running for political office? No. Should they be granted special recognition and encouraged by our government to form “partnerships” and accorded preferential treatment under tax codes, hiring practices, etc.? NO!

The bottom line is this: There are some moral standards that must be protected–written into law–for the proper functioning of a society. Marriage is one of them. It is an institution created by God, and therefore the rules of it are governed by God. Sorry, whether or not you believe in God is immaterial. Our society was founded on that belief, and on the principles set forth in the bible. The cry will be, “but that’s joining church and state!” It is not. Our entire system of laws, “don’t steal,” “don’t hurt someone else,” “don’t murder,” and so on are all based on the bible–many laws are based on the Ten Commandments (which aren’t displayed in public schools anymore).

The whole “separation of church and state” issue as portrayed today by leftists is a dishonest rewriting of history. No place is that terminology used in our country’s founding documents. The only place it is mentioned is within a single private letter written by Thomas Jefferson. Our Constitution and other founding documents all show that our country was set up to prevent the government from establishing an official religion as had been done in England. It decidedly was NOT about keeping all traces of religious influence out of government!

The very system of having laws to control the excesses of human (sinful) behavior is a distinctly “religious” feature of our society, and the laws themselves derive from that religious framework. You cannot separate morality from law–the law is society’s statement of morality. The question is: Whose morality will our laws reflect? Will our laws continue to reflect the morality of our Judeo-Christian heritage, proven over the centuries to deliver the best life possible and the most individual freedom possible for its citizens? Or will our laws change and reflect the morality of materialism, statism, and godlessness, which ultimately leads to tyranny? That is the great debate we face, among which are skirmishes and battles like recognizing same-sex marriage.

People of faith, and some with no stated faith, consider marriage to be under attack by leftists in our country. Mayor Matt Ryan is one of the people attacking it. For Mayor Ryan, Gov. Paterson, the California Supreme Court and others, know this: We will fight you tooth and nail to the bitter end to protect marriage. The first step in that fight for those of us living in Binghamton–toss Matt Ryan out of office in the next election cycle. It’s “imperative that we all do our part” to save marriage, and save our society. Getting rid of Matt Ryan will be one small step in the right direction.

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