OWENS: Holder’s assault on black family values
Campaigning for homosexual marriage disregards the rights of children
On Feb. 8, Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. spoke at a ritzy gala hosted by the Human Rights Campaign in New York, where he outlined new Justice Department policies aimed at advancing homosexual rights.
Mr. Holder stated that “for President Obama, for [himself], and for [their] colleagues at every level of the administration, this work is a top priority.” That much is already clear from the reckless and lawless record of this administration, which has done so much to undermine the institution of marriage in our country.
Mr. Holder could have physically shredded a copy of the U.S. Constitution at the podium that evening, and it would not have been a more eloquent statement of how far he and the president are willing to go in order to impose a radical homosexual agenda to redefine marriage on our entire nation.
The continuing fallout of the sexual revolution — the weakening of the institution of marriage, the disintegration of the family, and the catastrophes of irresponsible and absentee parenting — have already wreaked havoc on our communities. These tragic failures, promoted by a complicit media and by unsound social policies, have impacted the African-American community in a particularly hurtful way.
I am ashamed of Mr. Obama and Mr. Holder for turning their backs on the black community and the values that we hold dear — values we want strengthened and promoted rather than weakened and undermined. The ongoing progress of civil rights rightly calls for the building up of a healthier marriage culture. Instead, our elected leaders are bent on destroying marriage, remaking it as a genderless institution and reorienting it to be all about the desires of adults rather than the needs of children.
However, the problem is not merely that the president and his administration — in particular, Mr. Holder — are promoting this radical agenda. The problem is that they are trampling the rule of law in order to do it. When the top law enforcement officer in the nation runs roughshod over the rule of law, that problem cannot be ignored.
That is why I am calling for the attorney general to be impeached and to be held accountable for his abandonment of the oath he swore in taking office.
The Coalition of African American Pastors, which I represent, is asking for 1 million signatures on a petition urging Congress to take action against Mr. Holder for his reckless disregard of the laws that bind our social fabric together, and for his attacks upon the institution of marriage, which forms the very foundation of our society.
We cannot sit idly by and watch the sanctity of marriage made a mockery and transformed into the most thoroughly rotten fruit of the sexual revolution. We owe something better to our children’s and grandchildren’s generations than to pass on to them a legacy of genderless marriage, which ignores the right of every child to be raised by a loving mother and father. History will look upon this moment and judge us accordingly as to whether we act or remain silent. Let us make the right decision, and stand proudly on the right side of history.
The Rev. William Owens is the founder and president of the Coalition of African American Pastors, USA, and co-founder of Education for All.
