Two presbyteries switch votes on Amendment 01-A
The Layman Online, March 18, 2002
The referendum on Amendment 01-A drew nearer the finish line during the weekend, with two more presbtyeries that voted against the 1996 proposal to prohibit the ordination of practicing homosexuals changing their view this time.
On March 16, Mackinac Presbytery in Michigan and Newark Presbytery in New Jersey voted to affirm the “fidelity/chastity” ordination standard in the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Those votes ran the tally among the denomination’s 174 presbyteries to 122-46 against Amendment 01-A, which would have deleted the standard from the constitution. Opposition to changing the standard is 73.1 percent, nearly three to one.
The defeat of Amendment 01-A has already been ensured.
In the 1996-97 referendum, Mackinac voted 36-36 on what was then known as Amendment B. A presbytery’s tie vote counts as a no vote on any proposed amendment to the Book of Order. On March 16, commissioners to the Mackinac Presbytery said no to Amendment 01-A by voice vote.
Previously, the Newark Presbytery voted 61-26 against Amendment B. The vote March 16 was 40-35 against Amendment 01-A.