wfn.org | Affirmative Votes on Amendment B Continue to Lead;

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

19-March-1997 
97134 
 
        Affirmative Votes on Amendment B Continue to Lead; 
              Unconfirmed Reports Say it Has Passed 
 
                      by Jerry L. Van Marter 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--Though the official tally on Amendment B, the 
commonly-called "fidelity and chastity" amendment, is 72 in favor and 51 
opposed, newspapers across the country reported in their March 19 editions 
that the amendment has received the necessary 87 affirmative votes to 
become part of the "Book of Order." 
 
     The Associated Press (AP) was the first secular news organization to 
report that the amendment had received enough votes to pass.  AP religion 
writer David Briggs based his report on a number of informal tallies being 
kept throughout the Presbyterian Church and posted on PresbyNet and 
Internet. Briggs told the Presbyterian News Service (PNS) he had been 
contacted by a member of The Coalition and told the amendment has passed. 
 
     Several reporters told PNS they had also been contacted by The 
Coalition, a group of Presbyterian individuals and organizations formed in 
1993 to advocate for the prohibition of the ordination of  gay and lesbian 
Presbyterians to church office. 
 
     The Presbyterian News Service, which was inundated with calls from 
secular reporters from coast to coast once the AP story came out, refused 
to confirm the passage story because only those presbytery votes formally 
filed with the Office of the General Assembly are official.   
      
     The Presbyterian News Service refused to confirm the passage, but said 
that the consensus of more than a dozen informal tallies being kept by 
various Presbyterian individuals and groups is that the needed 87 
affirmative votes have occurred as of March 18. 
 
     Ann Rogers-Melnick, religion reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 
reported in that paper's March 19 edition that the vote March 18 by 
Redstone Presbytery in southwestern Pennsylvania gave the amendment its 
87th affirmative vote.  At least two other presbyteries -- Charlotte and 
Tropical Florida -- also reportedly approved the amendment March 18, though 
none of those votes have been formally filed with the Office of the General 
Assembly (OGA). 
 
     The passage of Amendment B will be certified by the stated clerk, the 
Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, at the upcoming General Assembly in Syracuse, and 
will be based on the tally of the formal ballot cards submitted to OGA by 
presbytery stated clerks. 
 
     The Presbyterian News Service will continue its policy of reporting 
only those presbytery votes that have been formally filed with OGA.  When 
the official tally has reached 87 affirmative votes (Eastern Hanmi 
Presbytery was organized March 15, raising the total number of presbyteries 
to 172 and therefore the needed majority to 87), PNS will confirm passage 
of the amendment. 
 
     The official count, as of March 19: 
 
Affirmative (72): Abingdon, Beaver-Butler, Blackhawk, Carlisle, Central 
Florida, Central Nebraska, Central Washington, Charleston-Atlantic, 
Cherokee, Coastal Carolina, de Cristo, Donegal, Eastern Virginia, Flint 
River, Florida, Foothills, Glacier, Grace, Greater Atlanta, Holston, 
Homestead, Huntingdon, Indian Nations, Inland Northwest, James, John 
Calvin, Kendall, Lake Erie, Memphis, Midwest Hanmi, Mississippi, Missouri 
Union, Muskingum Valley, Nevada, New Harmony, Noroeste, North Alabama, 
North Central Iowa, Palo Duro, Peace River,  Peaks, Philadelphia, Pines, 
Pittsburgh, Prospect Hill, Providence, Riverside, Sacramento, St. Andrew, 
St. Augustine, Salem, San Fernando, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Savannah, 
Shenango, Sheppards & Lapsley, South Alabama, South Dakota, South 
Louisiana, Southeastern Illinois,  Southern Kansas, Suroeste, Stockton, 
Tampa Bay, Transylvania, Tres Rios, Trinity, Washington, Western North 
Carolina, Yellowstone and Yukon. 
 
Negative (51): Arkansas, Boise, Chicago, Cincinnati, Des Moines, Detroit, 
East Iowa, Eastern Oklahoma, Eastern Oregon, Eastminster, Genesee Valley, 
Giddings-Lovejoy, Great Rivers, Heartland, Hudson River, John Knox, Lake 
Huron, Lake Michigan, Louisville, Miami, Middle Tennessee, Milwaukee, 
Minnesota Valleys, Mission, Monmouth, National Capital, New Covenant, New 
Hope, New York City, Newark, Newton, Northern Kansas, Northern New England, 
Northern New York, Ohio Valley, Palisades, Plains and Peaks, Redwoods, San 
Francisco, San Jose, Santa Fe, Sierra Blanca, Susquehanna Valley, Twin 
Cities Area, Utica, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, Western New York, 
Western Reserve, Whitewater Valley and Wyoming. 

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