It was a hot, sweaty summer day when we pulled up in the NOMobile to the parking lot at Dave's Market in Lima, and by 2 p.m. it was even hotter. "Heat index of 105," the reporter from the Lima News muttered.
But about 30 Ohioans braved the blistering sun to stand for marriage. (Not a huge number, but more than twice as many as the very well-behaved protestors who showed.)
Congressman Jim Jordan sent a statement of encouragement, and Jamie Gruber made her debut on the NOM Summer for Marriage bus tour, as well.
Jamie is executive director of the Ruth Institute, a project of NOM, and as she said, she works with young next generation leaders to create a culture of lifelong married love in one of the most hostile territories on earth: the American college campus!
Jamie had a message for gay marriage advocates: "We are not giving up on the next generation, we are going to fight for marriage and we are going to win!"
My message: This fight is not over. Even here in Ohio, activist federal judges are now threatening to take away Ohioans right to vote for marriage. But the Supreme Court reads election returns. Our job this November is to elect politicians who will vote to protect the people's right to marriage.
The crowd was enthusiastic--and I also have to say, grateful to NOM. One young man Eric told me, "Don't stop getting this message out. People need to understand how important it is." I spoke with one young couple who showed up with the most adorable baby in tow. He's a law student in Cincinnati and he told me that some things are right, even when they aren't cool, and he feels the need to stand for marriage for the sake of his daughter, and for all the other kids who will suffer, if we lose the truth about what marriage means and what it's for: divorce, unchastity, same-sex marriage are part of a continuum of challenges.
His shirt said he was an Alum of BYU so I ventured to ask if he was LDS (yes, he was), and I thanked them both for all that their faith community has done to stand for marriage.
Monday, its Indianapolis, be there!
-Maggie
