Archdiocese Leads Philadelphia Catholics To 'Marriage March' In DC
By Jim Melwert
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The United States Supreme Court is hearing arguments today in the first of two same-sex marriage cases.
The case before the court Tuesday is a challenge to California's voter-approved Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in that state.
READ: 5 Possible Outcomes Of The Proposition 8 Case
Many people from our area traveled to Washington D-C Tuesday morning to participate in a "Marriage March."
One of five buses from our area left from Center City. A bus also left from each of the surrounding suburban counties. All of this was coordinated by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
One of those on the bus out of Center City was Paul Sank from Maple Shade, New Jersey, who says regarding gay rights, he feels a small minority is pressing its agenda on the rest of the nation.
"Homosexuals – lesbians and gays, the LG part – make up maybe two maybe, three percent of the population and they have a vastly disproportionate amount of wealth and power. Something stinks about this deal."
Also on board the bus, Patty Jannuzzi says she worries a Supreme Court decision in favor of same-sex-marriage would disrupt what she calls 'a nice balance.'
"I think it's going to tip in the opposite way. I think people that believe in God and in the natural law are going to be persecuted if in fact this goes through. Where as right now, everybody's got a nice balance."
And Megan Ference says she's taking part in the march and rally out of love, "For my brothers and sisters who are struggling with same-sex attraction. As a Catholic, I believe there are certain ways that God asks us to live. Not because he wants to impose these ridiculous rules on us, but because he knows that this is the best way, and he wants us to be happy."
Once in Washington, they took part in a march organized largely in part by the National Organization for Marriage, a group heavily involved in the fight against gay marriage. They marched to the Supreme Court in the morning, and then gathered on the National Mall for a rally from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
READ: Marriage Equality Supporters Rally Outside Philadelphia's Federal Building
