CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- A wave of local and state Democrats throughout the U.S. are leaving the party due to controversy over its leaders\u2019 support for \u201cgay marriage,\u201d as well as concerns about religious freedom and the defense of the unborn.<\/p>\n\t\u201cThere comes a time when you have to stand on what you believe in,\u201d said Greg Waggoner, sheriff of Leake County, Miss. \u201cAnd I can no longer have any connection with the Democratic Party if that\u2019s the route they\u2019re going to take.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tWaggoner was one of seven local Mississippi Democrats who formally switched his party affiliation to Republican on May 30.<\/p>\n
\tHe said that the Democratic Party took an \u201cextreme left turn\u201d when its national leaders \u201cendorsed same-sex marriage\u201d in recent weeks, presenting a direct conflict with his faith and allegiance to Christ.<\/p>\n
\tFirmly committed to the belief that marriage is a union \u201cbetween a man and a woman,\u201d he realized that his views were better reflected in the Republican Party.<\/p>\n
\tAccording to the Mississippi Republican Party, more than 50 Democrats in the state have switched their affiliation since \u201cNancy Pelosi and Barack Obama have taken over the national Democrat party.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tOther states \u2013 particularly those in the South \u2013 have had a similar experience, as Democrats are exiting the party at a significant rate. The shift is being attributed to increasingly liberal stances by leaders of the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n
\tOn May 9, U.S. President Barack Obama voiced his official endorsement of \u201cgay marriage,\u201d becoming the first president in the country\u2019s history to do so.<\/p>\n
\tHis announcement came just days after Vice President Joe Biden said that he was \u201cabsolutely comfortable\u201d with \u201cgay marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe move immediately sparked controversy, with critics arguing that it does not reflect the will of the people. In every state where the issue has been put to a vote of the citizens, marriage has been upheld as the union of a man and a woman.<\/p>\n
\tIn recent weeks, several prominent Democrats have called for support of \u201cgay marriage\u201d to be added to the party platform at the convention in North Carolina this September.<\/p>\n
\tThe suggestion has been controversial both within and beyond the party, especially in light of North Carolina\u2019s recent adoption of a constitutional amendment to protect marriage.<\/p>\n
\tThis support for \u201csame-sex marriage\u201d was a concern for Rick Murphrey, mayor of Kings Mountain, N.C., and prominent Pennsylvania committeewoman Jo Ann Nardelli, both of whom were lifelong Democrats before they recently switched their party affiliation to Republican.<\/p>\n
\tNardelli, a Catholic, told the National Catholic Register that she had watched the party drift away from her values and her faith. She pointed specifically to statements by Biden and Obama endorsing \u201cgay marriage\u201d as motivating her decision to leave.<\/p>\n
\tSeveral former Democrats also criticized the party\u2019s continuing support for abortion, as well as religious freedom concerns sparked by a mandate issued recently by the Obama administration.<\/p>\n
\tThe Health and Human Services mandate will require employers to offer health insurance plans that cover contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs, even if doing so violates their consciences.<\/p>\n
\tTexas state representative J.M. Lozano switched parties in March, citing his \u201cpro-life\u201d values as one reason for doing so.<\/p>\n
\tFormer Alabama Congressman Artur Davis, a Democrat who had previously supported Obama, revealed in a May 29 blog post that if he were to run for office again in the future, \u201cit would be as a Republican.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tDavis explained that the party\u2019s agenda has changed, particularly since Obama took office, and said that he no longer feels aligned with its positions.<\/p>\n
\tAmong the reasons he cited for cutting ties with the Democratic Party was the contraception mandate, which contradicted his belief that \u201cfaith institutions should not be compelled to violate their teachings because faith is a freedom, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tIn explaining his decision to leave the party, Sherriff Waggoner said that ultimately, he believes his choice was in the best interest of the nation.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe have to make a return to the morals, to the traditional values that this country was founded on,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we\u2019re going to preserve our country, we\u2019re going to have to preserve our families. And we\u2019re not going to preserve our families going the route that they want to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
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