Meet the Young Guns Who Are Leading the Pro-Marriage Effort

The New York Times just published a piece about the various young leaders of the pro-marriage effort in the nation’s capital. It’s an exciting story, and it features two good friends of mine, Andrew Walker and Eric Teetsel.

The story, entitled “Young Opponents of Sam-Sex Marriage Undaunted” by Samantha Parker, also references Ryan Anderson, who I just last week noted has established himself as the leader par excellence of the natural-law wing of the pro-marriage coalition.

You will want to read this story to get a feel for the burgeoning, young, fresh-faced marriage movement. Of course, these friends of mine–and the broader effort–are not “opponents” first and foremost. We’re “champions” of marriage, given us by the mind of God and designed for the full flourishing of humanity.

Here’s a selection:

 “Proponents of same-sex marriage have done a fantastic job of telling the story of same-sex marriage through music and television and film, ” said Eric Teetsel, 29, the executive director of the Manhattan Declaration, which describes itself as a movement of Christians for life, marriage and religious freedom. “I think it’s really a case where once they hear the other side of the issue, and really think about it deeply, we’re going to win a lot of those folks back.”

And the other side of the issue — the case for what proponents call traditional marriage — is simple, they say.

“In redefining marriage to include same-sex couples, what you’re doing is you’re excluding the norm of sexual complementarity,” Mr. Anderson, the Heritage Foundation fellow, said. “Once you exclude that norm, the three other norms — which are monogamy, sexual exclusivity and permanency — become optional as well.”

And see this:

Opponents of same-sex marriage say they realize they may lose the current fight, but they optimistically take the long view, pointing to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that legalized abortion. At the time, they say, opponents of abortion were told their cause was lost, but the fight continues 40 years later.

“If you take the longer view of history — I’m not talking just 15 years, I’m talking 40 years or even 100 years — I can’t help but think that the uniqueness of man-woman marriage will be adjudicated over time,” said Andrew Walker, 27, a policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation.

Read the whole thing.

Some will see this piece as a sign of the imperiled state of the pro-marriage cause. I see it as a sign of great hope. With the folks mentioned in the article, I’ll be in Washington, DC next week for the Marriage March (representing the decidedly pro-marriage outfit I serve as Executive Director, the Council on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood), organized by Tom Peters of the National Organization for Marriage.

Also, with Teetsel and Walker, I’m really excited to launch a new pro-marriage effort that will debut next week called Marriage Generation. All I can do right now is mention this new initiative; stay tuned for the full roll-out very soon. There is a great deal of work to do in this broader movement; many are ready to advocate for marriage in the public square. Join us.

(Image: Stephen Crowley/NYT)