'Christian America is under siege': Faith leaders unite vs. same-sex marriage ruling

A protester holds a sign against same-sex marriage in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington DC.Reuters

Seeking to defend their Christian beliefs and religious freedom, leaders from 11 faith groups recently gathered in front of the Supreme Court to highlight the negative impact of the ruling legalising same-sex marriage across the United States.

During a press briefing at the high court's steps on Wednesday, Gualberto Garcia Jones, executive director of the International Human Rights Group, described the legalisation of same-sex marriage as a direct attack on the Christian faith.

"Christian America is under siege by the forces of secularism. ...There is no doubt that the advocates of same sex marriage will attempt to use the full force of the US Government to force Christians to secularise," he said.

Garcia, who is also the Latin American bureau chief for LifeSiteNews' Spanish and Portuguese website NotiFam.com, also criticised the high court magistrates for encroaching on the role of Congress to legislate.

"As a lawyer, I am shocked that the highest court in the land has definitively abandoned its role as arbiters of cases and controversies before them in order to become a super legislature of enlightened social engineers," he said.

LifeSite News Editor-in-chief John Henry Westen, meanwhile, warned that the legalisation allowing gay marriages may lead to the repression of those who do not agree with the ruling, including Christians.

"In Ireland when it passed, same-sex resisters were told that they could be jailed for six months; churches faced fines for denying same-sex ceremonies. In France, they forbid negative speech against homosexuality," he said.

Westen also encouraged American Christians to continue defending their faith.

"And so those policies, at least if they're upfront and known, will at least be showing 'Look, we are here for the whole Christian teaching of God's design for human sexuality which we believe and practice and therefore we're not being discriminatory at all,'" he said.

During the event, several faith organisations also gave statements fighting for religious freedom, including the American Life League, the Cardinal Newman Society, 2nd Vote, Lepanto Institute and CitizenGo.