Contact: Carol Griesbach or Don Feder, 815-964-5819, 513-515-3685 cell, media@worldcongress.org

MEDIA ADVISORY, Sept. 11 /Christian Newswire/ -- "The attack on the institution of marriage is relentless," said Larry Jacobs, global coordinator of the World Congress of Families.

Jacobs was reacting to a bill passed by the California Legislature which changes the definition of marriage in state law from "man and woman" to "two persons." This would de facto establish homosexual marriage in California.

Jacobs noted that in 2000, California voters passed Proposition 22, a statute limiting marriage to a man and a woman.

"In liberal California, the measure passed with a vote of 61.4%," Jacobs observed. "When it comes to same-sex marriage, what is it about 'no!' that California politicians and judges don't understand?" There's also a ballot drive underway for a marriage amendment to the California constitution.

While California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed similar legislation in the past, he's now signaling that he might sign AB43 (the redefinition of marriage).

"Tampering with marriage will have catastrophic consequences," Jacobs cautioned. "Society's essential business of procreation isn't done by same-sex couples.  Beyond that, the natural family is far and away the best arrangement for nurturing children. Rather than a fad that validates the life-styles of certain well-organized interest groups, the natural family is a time-tested arrangement for achieving social stability."

Jacobs warned that California politicians are courting disaster. "Besides the end-run around the democratic process this legislation represents, the bill will validate the abnormal and undercut the overwhelming majority of California families."

World Congress of Families celebrates the natural family. WCF International Secretary Allan Carlson and Paul Mero, president of The Sutherland Institute, are co-authors of the recently published, "The Natural Family: A Manifesto."  Click here: www.familymanifesto.org to order a copy of the book.

For more information on The World Congress of Families, go to www.worldcongress.org. To schedule an interview with WCF Global Coordinator Larry Jacobs, call Carol Griesbach at 1-800-461-3113.

The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society located in Rockford, Illinois, is an independent, non-profit research and education center that strives to be the leading source of fresh ideas and new strategies for affirmation and defense of the natural family, both nationally and globally.  The Howard Center is also the organizer of the World Congress of Families project which unites people of goodwill who recognize that the family is the fundamental unit of society and coordinates the efforts of pro-family groups from more than 60 countries worldwide.

The World Congress of Families (WCF) is an international network of pro-family organizations, scholars, and leaders that seeks to restore the natural family as the fundamental social unit and the 'seedbed' of civil society.  The WCF was founded in 1997 by Allan Carlson, president of The Howard Center.  To date, there have been four World Congresses of Families – Prague (1997), Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004) and Warsaw, Poland (2007).