Former NY Giants Player: Legalizing Gay Marriage Would Bring 'Anarchy'
In a last minute effort to support traditional marriage in New York, former Giants receiver David Tyree came out in a video to explain why legalizing gay marriage is dangerous to society and unbiblical.
Tyree, who gave the New York Giants its championship in Super Bowl XLII by catching the football within seconds left on the clock, says “marriage is the only relationship that mirrors a relationship with God.”
Gay marriage, he said, sends the message that you don’t need a mother and a father.
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“You can’t teach something that you don’t have. Two men will never be able to show a woman how to be a woman,” said Tyree in a video interview with the National Organization for Marriage on Wednesday. “That’s just simple, for lack of a better term, common sense.”
The state of New York is embroiled in a gay marriage fight, with the final showdown in the Republican-controlled Senate expected to take place on Thursday or Friday. The Democrat-controlled Assembly passed the gay marriage bill by a vote of 80-63 late Wednesday night.
An unofficial vote count finds a tie in the Senate, 31-31, according to The Associated Press. It could go either way, even though the Republicans have a 32-30 majority. A tie would mean the bill is defeated. But if the pro-gay marriage side can find one more vote, they only need 32, then gay marriage will be legal in New York. At least two Republican state senators say they are undecided.
Since the bill passed only last night, the Senate still needs to decide whether to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.
“What we are doing today is not right,” said Republican Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun, who represents Orange and Rockland counties, to AP. “We are changing the institution of marriage … this is a day I will remember as a day when the state of New York and its constitution lost something, and I’m very sorry that is about to happen.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is strongly supportive of legalizing same-sex marriage. In fact, he is the one who submitted the current gay marriage bill, called the Marriage Equality Act.
When asked what would happen if New York passed the gay marriage bill, former NY Giants receiver Tyree said, “This will be the beginning of our country sliding towards, it’s a strong word, but anarchy.”
“That would be the moment that our society loses its grip with what’s right. I do believe there is right and wrong. I do believe there is good and evil. I believe that many things are subjective, but I don’t believe truth is subjective.”
“Marriage is one of those things that is the backbone of society. So if you redefine it, it changes the way we educate our children. It changes the perception of what is good, what is right, what is just.”
NOM Chairman Maggie Gallagher explained in a Yahoo News column that Tyree wanted to defend traditional marriage in a video after his former teammate Michael Strahan declared publicly last week that he supports gay marriage.
Tyree wanted to clarify, however, that although he is motivated by his faith to support traditional marriage, he is not out to create a theocracy, but to do what is right.
“How can marriage be marriage for thousands of years and now all of the sudden because of a minority, an influential minority … [it must be] totally reshaped to something that was not founded in our country, not founded by man?” the Christian athlete asked. “It is something that is holy and sacred. I think there is nothing more honorable than fighting for, especially if we really care about future generations, [marriage].”
“I feel like athletes, believers, or people who are very strong towards marriage, especially in places of position, need to really take this opportunity to voice it,” Tyree urged. “I think we are doing ourselves a great injustice … by not making His heart known to our country.”
He added, “I want to identify my life with Jesus in every way.”
On the Web: New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms
