On November 14, 2009, thousands of Californians will be united in a common cause as we march on the state capitol building to demand a return to traditional values as part of our petition kick-off event.
We will assemble in Cesar Chavez park, reclaiming it from its Marxist heritage, then march the three blocks to the capitol building. Once there, there will be speakers and our signature event — a mass renewal of wedding vows on the steps of the capitol, reminding the legislators within that God said you should cling to your wife, and that anyone who suggests otherwise deserves a spanking.
RSVP for this events and find other RescueMarriage.org members from your neighborhood on the RescueMarriage.org Meetup page!
Map
View Wedding March on the Capitol in a larger map
John Marcotte is a firm believer in traditional family values. He currently opposes government-funded death panels, Obama talking to children and MSNBC's entire prime-time line-up. 
I’m excited about this! Here are my sign ideas:
- Another pissed-off Teabagger
- Prop 8 Wasn’t Enough! Give Us Prop 8 Squared
- Glen Beck is my Hero
- Obama is a Socialist, Communist, Fascist Jihadist
- Sarah Palin for God
- Ban Divorce*
- Scrap the Legislature, Bring Back the Angry Mob
- Sean Hannity + Rush Limbaugh -> Pray for it!
- Mike Huckabee Speaks for All Christians
- Can We Get the Mormons to Bankroll This Too?
- Replace the Penal Code with the Bible
- First Gays Wanted Marriage, Now They Want Divorce? NO*
- Christians Against Heathen Divorce
- Fox News is the Voice of God
- The Bible Says No Divorce*
* except by God-fearing Christian men whose wives have turned away from their marital obligations by getting old and dumpy
Fox News is certainly NOT the voice of God !!! This kind of nonsense is exactly why things are in the mess they are…..Only a clear proclamation and application of the gospel of Jesus Christ will bring about the deliverance of the homosexual and the self-righteous conservative who trusts in himself that he is righteous…
I agree! Clear application of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who condemned homosexuality in no uncertain terms dozens of times, through the loving application of harrassment and denial of rights, will bring about their salvation (assuming they’re Christian, of course). It’s also clear as day that Christ wanted us to focus our energies on homosexuals, rather than on all that other minor stuff about being tolerant, taking care of the poor, and all that other liberal claptrap attributed to him, but probably inserted by some progressive, pillow-biting monk.
There is some reasonable varience of opinion as to what the Gospel actually means to say to us.
What are you talking about? it is either you ban mariage for all or to noone. If you want to ban mariage than nobody should be maried, what kind of value is that you promoting here?
Marriage is a sacrament that everyone must follow. Christians must do so, at least, but I think we as a society have realized that even non-Christians should probably get married, too, and have expanded the law to allow the heathens to do so.
My point is that if a good Christian conservative man wants to get divorced, he is applying Biblical principles and should be allowed an exemption. The rest (gays, heathens, and women) should not be allowed to divorce, for obvious reasons.
No marriage; no divorce.
Be there or be square.
Thom Hartmann played some hysterical ad off your site however, I can not find it myself on your site. Will you please send it to me or make it easier to find?
http://rescuemarriage.org/2009/10/13/2010-california-marriage-protection-act-psas/
There better be a book barbecue or I’m staying home.
Will you be selling your T Shirts there?
We’re seeing if we can sell them at the park. We cannot sell them at the capitol.
I’m from Los Angeles but I would really love to attend this. If anyone’s thinking of attending or staying the night in Sacramento, let me know!
Me too! Let’s plan it!
As a Reformed evangelical Christian pastor I wonder about the wisdom of such antagonistic methods in the fight to uphold biblical standards? Are we not called to employ spiritual weapons and not carnal in our battle against evil?
I am concerned for the peace of our city with such actions and whilst i know we may have the right to demonstrate and march it does not mean that we need to employ such a right. The way of Christ is not the same as the way of the world. Clear gospel preaching is the only hope for the lost homosexual, that he might repent and be delivered…
Pastor, your words are respected. I’m glad you have your priorities right: it is up to us strong heterosexual Christian men to point out homosexuality and abortion as the worst sins, sins that thankfully we will never be guilty of committing. All I can say is it feels GREAT to feel self-righteous, something you must enjoy as well. Let’s be honest: it’s not worth getting worked up about all of those other sins if we might commit them ourselves.
I have no righteousness of my own Joe, it is all sin my friend. Thankfully i do have one who has provided me with a righteousness that rescues me from my sin, His name is Jesus Christ ! Now that I enjoy the imputed righteousness of another I am committed and enabled to deal honestly and sincerely with my sins.This is the glory of the Christian gospel.
Abortion is a terrible sin and so is homosexuality but adultery and fornication, covetousness and lying are also just as damnanble in the sight of God and to think that one might not ever sanction abortion or practice homosexuality because they are too good is to fail to understand the power of sin in the soul and the need for God’s saving grace…..
Regards
RB
I agree. Banning gay marriage was an important step to convey our loving kindness to the wayward homosexual. How do we ban extramarital sex, adultery, not giving to the poor, and all of the other sins that Jesus explicitly condemned in the Bible?
Joe not sure what your point is but let me see if I understand.
Marriage is not something you or I or anyone has the right to define. It is defined by Scripture and God. So irrespective of whether California makes a law saying ‘Gays can marry’ it does not make it Marriage biblically defined and never will. It can be called ‘Gay Marriage’ but that is still not biblical marriage and can never be. To draw an equal sign between them is to talk nonsense.
If the battle is about the definition of marriage then that is an issue to debate, if it is about trying to redefine it the issue is redundant as per my point above,UNLESS however the State is going to enforce on me a new definition and tell me that I must accept it. That is religious persecution which the State may decide to do but I will never accept an unbiblical definition of marriage or in this case a State imposed definition. If it is persecution I am called to suffer then so be it. My God is in control of all things.
Will I go out and protest against my gay neighbors? No, will i call them names? No, will i vote to define marriage as God does, of course. But I will never accept the sinful lifestyle of the homsexual as acceptable before God and ever call their sexual immorality marriage as the bible defines it, how can I ? Even they cannot if they were honest in their reading and understanding of the Bible.
Regarding the other sins of our culture, we do legislate against covetousness when it turns into stealing, and we do legislate against fornication when it turns into rape, and we do legislate against adultery when it results in divorce, so whilst our laws are far from perfect they do reflect a measure of biblical morality, albeit one that is continually being eroded in places but upheld in other places.
If the Gay Marriage debate is about just treatment of homosexuals when it comes to their taxes, their pensions, their benefits etc, then let me hear what the issues are, I believe in treating all my neighbors justly irrespective of their lifestyle.
If it is about denying God’s word and redefining things and rejecting God’s truth then i cannot and will not be silent about that. Homsexuality is sinful and will incur God’s judgment, Christ is able to deliver homosexuals from their sexual immorality, this is a message of hope for them that I want to tell them even if they hate me for it.
Warmest regards
RB
Not true, my good minister. Fornication is not rape. Fornication is sexual relations between two unmarried people. This is still LEGAL. Adultery is not illegal; it can just be grounds for divorce. It is NOT illegal.
When are we going to stop being hypocrites under the Lord and vote God’s law instead of just a small subset that happens to be convenient to us?
Fornication must be ILLEGAL as the Lord said it is a condemnable sin.
Adultery must be ILLEGAL as the Lord said it is a condemnable sin.
Divorce must be ILLEGAL as the Lord said it is a condemnable sin.
I realize these are unpopular positions, but popularity matters not to the Lord. Brother, will you stand with us?
In Christ,
Joe
I can only discuss things with you Joe if you read and represent what i say accurately and avoid misrepresenting me.
Rape is a form of fornication, not all fornication is rape but all rape is fornication. How else would you define it ?
What is legal and illegal is defined in our state by what the statutes say not what you and I say. I may believe certain things should be illegal but that does not make them illegal in our state, are you understanding this?
What exactly do you want me to stand with you on Joe ? Does standing with you mean agreeing with your methodology or does questioning your methodology place me in the category of ‘not standing with you’?
Try to respond in a measured way my friend and try to understand what I am saying.
Warmest regards
RB
Good minister, fornication is *consensual* sex between two unmarried adults. So rape, while a terrible crime, is most certainly NOT fornication. God has condemned consensual sex between two unmarried adults. This condemned sin happens under our noses all the time because we REFUSE to condemn it and treat it with the same sort of condemnation as we do gay marriage. All sins disgrace the glory of Christ. If we do not march and call on fellow believers to end divorce, which Christ himself condemned 5 times, while we march and encourage people to vote against gay marriage, WE ARE HYPOCRITES. The Lord will know we are simply campaigning against gay marriage because it’s easy because we are not gay. Unless you are bearing false witness, you will know this is 100% true.
I don’t know how things work in your church. But if you encouraged your parishioners to vote yes on Prop 8, then as a duty to the Lord’s Law, encourage them to rally and vote for the Rescue Marriage march so divorce, condemned roundly by Christ FIVE TIMES, will be made illegal in our land as has gay marriage.
The turning away from Christ that is increasing in California and America is because we are simply not consistent. If we use God’s Law to condemn gay marriage, we must apply God’s Law to make illegal DIVORCE, FORNICATION and ADULTERY.
Please stand with us, Brother, and call on your parish to do the same.
“Marriage is not something you or I or anyone has the right to define.” Quoth you. Would that include the State of California? If so, what was Prop 8 about? I though Prop 8 defined marriage because enough folks thought they had the right to define it for other folks. This is a good way to start a fight. You’re a pastor and you should know these things. If Prop 8 is against the Good Book, the discussion over divorce is out of line too and Prop 8 should be overruled putting everything back to where it was. Nuff said.
Oh boy, internet argument… Just quit now.
I see no point in continuing this discussion with you Joe. I believe that you are misguided and that your conduct only makes the spreading of the true gospel more difficult.
For the record I leave my people to vote their conscience in the political arena. It is my job to educate them biblically and to have them behave as Christians, if they do that then God will be with them. God is neither a democrat or a republican nor an American.
It is not my duty to call them onto the streets in protest of anything, Christ never called His disciples to such conduct and neither did the apostles. Caesar may want to throw us to the lions that is Caesar’s perogative, if I get a vote I will vote my conscience in the light of Scripture but I believe in true religious liberty for all.
Have your march, do what you believe you ought that is your liberty and I defend your right, but do not try to impose it on me. I believe the methodology is foolishness and ill-advised and not the way of Christ and it does not advocate the peace of our city and as a pastor and preacher of the everlasting gospel in Sacramento I am not afraid to speak out on that.
I will be watching with interest to see how it all goes.
Warmest regards
RB
Mr. Marcotte – a serious question …
When will the PDF of the official petition be available here so I can print it off and start gathering signatures?
Are you waiting for the march on Sacramento to wait for the start of the signature gathering?
I wish you all the luck in the world with this very worthy endeavor.
The gays are coming for your marriages. AND WE’RE GOING TO EAT THEM!
Defining marriage as a sacrament is unbiblical, Roman Catholicism may call it that, the bible makes it clear it is a covenant of companionship between a male and female. There are two sacraments in the true Christian church, baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Warmest regards
RB
That’s true, and the True Christian Church® also includes Ordination to the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods and the Temple Endowment.
Joe your level of sarcasm is about to blow a circuit in my computer.
To be honest, I’m gonna have to agree with Pastor Robert in that I don’t see your point either. Kinda looks like you’re simply attacking what others say just to attack them.
We get it, you don’t agree with Christianity. Point is taken. We get it. I’ll put a check mark in the box, “JOE DOES NOT AGREE” *check* OK. Done. Thank you. Moving on.
You are right; I don’t like Christianity. I LOVE Christianity. But only the True Christianity that knows that love means hatred, tolerance means bigotry, and getting a place in Heaven means elbowing a bigger sinner out of the way.
Okay, I just finished reading all the comments, and while I understand that Joe the Plumber is actually being facetious with you, I hear his message, and I’d like to share a couple comments and questions with you.
First, the comments. Many Christians choose things in the Bible to follow for their convenience and ignore other things. Outlawing gay marriage and ignoring their own destruction of the sanctity of marriage is hypocritical and just a plain cruel attack. It’s so easy to take something away from others when your rights are already protected. It was cowardly what the voters did on Prop 8, and a travesty to the powers of a democratic state. The point of the 2010 Marriage Protection Act is not to actually ban divorce; the point is to shine the spotlight on this hypocrisy. Hence all the sarcasm.
Next, my questions: I’ve read the Bible and I’ve never seen abortion listed as a sin, nor as murder, which is listed in the Bible as a sin. I’ve read about shedding the blood of innocent children, but I have not seen that in the context of unborn children. So, aren’t you just reaching a little bit when you list it as a sin? I’ve even read Christian literature that says there is no direct condemnation of abortion in the Bible. Not that I don’t sympathize with the little unborn guys, it’s just a question on the reliability of using the Bible for such arguments and claims. And another question I have, more relevant to this site is, when does the Bible ever use the word “marriage”? I’m not saying it’s not in there, I just haven’t ever seen it, so I would like to look it up because you mentioned that “marriage” is not defined as being possible between two members of the same sex in the Bible. I’ve heard it described biblically as a “union,” but that is not the term that is debated in our government today. The rights we are referring to that differ based on a “marriage” versus a “civil union” in our state include pretty intense things like rights to visit spouses in the hospital, custody issues, and other legal matters. And my last question for you is about Jesus’s intentions for our political forums…did Jesus ever intend us to be doing what we are right now online? He never led his followers to this type of activity, either, but does that mean it is ill-advised? Wasn’t there a different type of government in the days of Christ, when the people weren’t afforded the rights we are today in the USA? I’d say that we need to adapt to our times, and I’d also say social justice was on the top of the priority list for Jesus. It’s great that we have so many options for peaceful demonstrations versus militias or terrorism.
Natalie
I have been informed that this whole site and its whole purpose is mockery and sarcasm. As a Christian pastor concerned for truth and righteousness and may I add justice, I do not have time to engage with those who are simply messing about with serious issues.
In order to respect you and your questions I am more than happy to respond in private but no longer in this forum. My interaction with Joe the Plumber indicated that there is no point in continuing serious discussion with those who are only interested in mocking. I do not regard this site as a serious place for discussion of the issues. I am interested in serious discussion and engaging kindly and honestly with those who do not agree with me so as to ensure that the issues at stake in this whole debate are truly opened up.
I presently view you as sincere and desiring honest answers from what I have written. Here is my response to your questions for public consumption, after that I will be happy to interact by private correspondence if you are interested.
1. Queation about abortion not being listed as a sin. As the sixth commandment states, You shall not murder, what aspect about that don’t you understand? Abortion is murder, it is the killing of the unborn human being in the womb. If you deny abortion is the killing of the unborn human being in the womb then I can see why you struggle here. Life as we know it begins at conception, to abort life is to murder and violate one of God’s most fundamental laws. It is as clear as the noon day sun Natalie, abortion is murder and a violation of the sixth commandment.
2.The term ‘marriage’ is found 27 times in the scriptures Natalie, i can send you the references if you are interested. They all refer to one man and one woman. This is the biblical defintion of the marriage. As a Christian I must uphold and defend the biblical defintition.
3.The issue of rights is not the same as the redefining of marriage. I believe that this has to be clear. If the issue is unjust treatment of homosexuals then let us have that discussion but do not confuse it with what marriage is.
Warmest regards
RB
If marriage was first set up not in church but as a way to join two families together to strengthen them. The larger the Clan the better you were protected. so my question is why should the church worry if a gay couple wants to get married? If you do not want to marry them in your church you say no but what right do you have to rule over others? There are some churches willing to give their blessings, let them. This is not medieval times when the church was almighty. The pact you have with god is your own, you will have to stand before your god and explain your actions, it is not your place to explain others actions.
The Christian church is identified in Scripture as the ‘pillar and ground of the truth’. Part of the church’s responsibility is to defend the teaching of the Bible when it comes under attack. The bible has a very clear definition of marriage, one man, one woman. As a Christian who believes the Bible to be the truth of God to all mankind I committed to defend it when it is attacked or denied.
No man, no culture and no government has the authority to redefine marriage. God created it, God gave it to us and we are called to embrace it and practice it. To choose not to but to engage in sexual activity is to be fornicators, adulterers or homosexuals which is to sin against God and live in rebellion. This will bring about eternal punishment from a just and holy creator who calls us to a better way, His way, through faith in His Son.
The society that chooses to rebel against God and His law is heading for disaster and destruction. History testifies to this for those who have eyes to see. The seeds of America’s destruction are sown, but thankfully there is still hope of redemption through Jesus Christ.
Warmest regards
RB
Photos of this spiritually uplifting event.
Pastor Robert Briggs writes: “I see no point in continuing this discussion with you Joe. I believe that you are misguided and that your conduct only makes the spreading of the true gospel more difficult.”
Translation: You run rings around me logically, Joe, so I must retreat now.
How can someone capable of such clear sentence structure be so oblivious to your brilliant sarcasm, Joe? You are my hero. I am a gay, legally-married Californian who hopes to vote yes on a divorce ban in 2010. Please don’t let me down.
LOL, you cannot be serious……!
I am entirely serious, Pastor Briggs. Let me restate Joe the Plumber’s questions to you, because I would truly like to know what you think.
1. Should adultery that is not rape (consensual adultery) be illegal? If not, why not?
2. Should fornication that is not rape (consensual fornication between adults) be illegal? If not, why not?
3. Should divorce be illegal? If not, why not?
When I said, “‘Til death do us part” at my wedding, I meant it. I did not enter my marriage lightly. I honestly believe that divorce should not be an option for anyone.
Regarding the Bible’s stance on abortion: Didn’t Baby John the Baptist leap for joy in Elisabeth’s womb when he felt the presence of Baby Jesus in Mary’s womb? I have heard this used as an argument to equate abortion with murder. Just thought I’d add to the discussion.
this makes me want to move to california just to help your cause. except that i live in no-mans land and actually have a job, which i hear is a hard-won thing to have there in california. so i will buy a t-shirt and support your cause from the armpit of texas!
In order to “protect” Marriage the state of California needs to adopt a ban on divorce, that will protect marriage.