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A constitutional amendment is quietly moving through the California Legislature. It is Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5 (ACA5), which aims to repeal Proposition 8 – the language added to the State Constitution in 2008 that marriage is between a man and a woman. ACA 5 was drafted and introduced by Democratic Senator Scott Wiener and Assemblyman Evan Lowe to erase that language and make marriage a fundamental right for everyone. Wiener said last year that rolling back Prop. 8 “is an essential step in protecting the freedom to marry for millions of LGBTQ Californians.”

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However, the California Family Council (CFC) is concerned that the language in the Amendment is too open-ended and would open a “Pandora’s Box” of “marriages” such as polygamy, marriage between siblings, and child marriages. In their blog post of June 7 this year, the CFC points to recent developments in Northern California as a potential fallout should ACA5 be passed.

Both the City of Oakland and the City of Berkeley passed legislation recognizing polyamorous relationships in an attempt to “protect diverse family structures” from discrimination. Other cities in California will likely follow their example. Polyamorous relationships, in which one partner may have simultaneous love relationships with several others, have become increasingly popular, and since 2017, courts have increasingly recognized multiple fathers and mothers as legitimate parents. ACA5 could set the legal recognition of polyamorous relationships in stone.

Of further concern is that ACA5 could make child marriages a constitutional right since California is one of the few states where those remain legal. According to data from the American Community Survey, approximately 8.789 children ages 15 to 17 entered into marriage in 2021 alone.

Jonathan Keller, President of the CFC, states: “We are deeply concerned about the implications of ACA 5 for families and children in California. The absence of any clear definition of marriage is alarming and paves the way for the legalization of polygamy, child marriage, and incestuous relationships. Stable, traditional marriages are vital for the well-being of children and society.”

Spiritual Implications

ACA5 is one of many attacks on the stability and well-being of the American family. Stable families, in which husband and wife complement each other in parenting children, have increasingly become a thing of the past. Progressive thinkers want the idea of “family” to include pretty much anything you imagine it to be.

There is more at stake here than basic freedoms, individual rights, or diversity. These are attacks on God’s design for the human family, ignited and steered by the forces of evil that hate everything that God has created and are building a world hostile to its Creator (see Ephesians 6:12). After all, God instituted marriage and family to multiply and fill the earth with His image bearers (see Genesis 1:26-28).

Satan’s attacks on family structures patterned after God’s design are especially strong in the United States because we are a country that has solid biblical principles embedded in our Constitution and were, until fairly recently, a nation in which biblical Christianity was the predominant way of life.

As a result of de-stabilizing the constitutional definition of family, society begins to crumble. And what is more, people are led further astray from God because the traditional definition of marriage and family that Christianity champions is seen as a hindrance to individual rights and freedoms – i.e., the right to “do what is right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25).

How to Pray

Jesus taught us to pray a powerful prayer: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). He has given us the power to pray that God’s moral will and kingdom principles be established on earth – here and now, so that people may find Him and be saved from the coming wrath.

• Pray for ACA5 to be defeated.
• Pray for politicians like Scott Wiener, Evan Lowe, and Governor Gavin Newsom to come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and surrender to Christ.
• Pray for the protection and stability of marriage and family as created by God.
• Pray for the eyes of the public and the government to be opened to the dangers of legislation like ACA5, recognition of polyamory, and allowing child marriage.
• Pray that these excesses may ignite a hunger for God’s will as a moral compass and a return to stability.

Father in heaven, Your designs are perfect. We pray for Your mighty hand to halt the progress of ACA5 and other legislations aimed at destroying Your designs for marriage and family. Open the eyes of the government and public alike to the dangers of these laws and ignite a hunger for You as people see these excesses and fear a world in which no one knows what is right or wrong. Raise up godly leaders to take office and reverse these alarming trends that lead our society further away from You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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Remco Brommet is a pastor, spiritual-growth teacher, and prayer leader with over 40 years of experience in Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the U.S. He was born and raised in the Netherlands and pastored his first church in Amsterdam. He moved to the U.S. in 1986. He and his wife, Jennifer, live north of Atlanta. When not writing books, he blogs at www.deeperlifeblog.com and assists his wife as a content developer and prayer coordinator for True Identity Ministries. Jennifer and Remco are passionate about bringing people into a deeper relationship with Christ. Photo Credit: Wedding Dreamz on Unsplash.