I’ve known Karl Crank since 1987 when he came to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to help our campus group with evangelistic outreaches while I was a student. Karl and several other members of Boston Maranatha Church were responsible for getting me involved with direct action on the pro-life front through Operation Rescue Boston in 1988. It was no surprise to me when I learned that Karl and his wife Kathleen had become advocates to protect traditional marriage in their current home state of Maryland.

See: A Crank on Gay Marriage – Murphy Brown Revisted.

What did come as a shock is the vitriol, threats and hatred that have been spewed at them and even their children from the homosexual political activist community.

The threats toward their daughter, which now number in the thousands, expose the true face of the so-called “same-sex” marriage movement. It is not a campaign for tolerance and equal rights, but a push to eradicate Christianity from public discourse. It has taken the form of a campaign to punish a 14-year-old home-schooled Christian girl for speaking her opinion at an open forum held in a state house sub-committee meeting in Annapolis, Maryland on January 31st, 2012. This is what lies in store for Christians who want to express their beliefs when same-sex “marriage” becomes accepted as a civil right in our nation.

The Forerunner has tried to expose the myth of neutrality and the true nature of spiritual warfare surrounding such “social issues” in numerous articles and video presentations such as God’s Law and Society and The Abortion Matrix. The attack on traditional marriage is much more than a liberal social experiment, but it represents an attack on the right to exercise the Christian faith in the public square.

14-Year-Old Sarah Crank faces death threats after stating her opinion on same-sex “marriage”

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND (www.forerunner.com) — At a subcommittee hearing in the state house in Annapolis, Maryland, representatives debating a same sex “marriage” measure heard expert testimony from various witnesses. The microphone was then opened to anyone in attendance to give a one-minute testimony stating their opinion.

Sarah Crank, a 14-year-old high school student, came with her mother and friends prepared to give a three-minute speech. After quickly culling down her notes to exactly one-minute, she stated her opinion that the homosexual lifestyle is a choice and that she personally knew several adults who had changed their homosexual behavior. Therefore, she reasoned, the definition of marriage ought not be changed by a legal statute because it would infringe on the rights of those who don’t want to be affected by that choice.

Transcript of the Testimony

Hi, I’m Sarah Crank. Today’s my 14th birthday, and it would be the best birthday present ever if you would vote “no” on gay marriage. I really feel bad for the kids who have two parents of the same gender. Even though some kids think it’s fine, they have no idea what kind of wonderful experiences they miss out on. I don’t want more kids to get confused about what’s right and okay. I really don’t want to grow up in a world where marriage isn’t such a special thing anymore.

It’s rather scary to think that when I grow up the legislature or the court can change the definition of any word they want. If they could change the definition of marriage then they could change the definition of any word. People have the choice to be gay, but I don’t want to be affected by their choice. People say that they were born that way, but I’ve met really nice adults who did change. So please vote “no” on gay marriage. Thank you.

Responses to the Testimony

The recorded testimony, which is public record, was commended by one of the sponsors of the gay “marriage” bill, who said, “Thank you. That was a very good testimony. One last question: Where are you in school?”

“I’m home-schooled,” she replied.

“Okay, good for you. You get an ‘A.’”

Another representative asked her where she lived and told her, “You did a great job on your birthday.”

Homosexual activists in attendance then chose three testimonies to immediately post on YouTube. Sarah Crank’s was one of them. Since she named her hometown at the request of the committee, people were able to locate her home address and information about her parents.

In early February, the audio of Sarah Crank’s testimony then went viral on several websites including Salon.com, LGBTQNation.com and the HuffingtonPost.com.

“And now everyone knows her name, so hopefully she will feel what its like to be harassed and bullied …” reads a comment posted on LGBTQNation.com

From YouTube: “My god I hate people like this. Most (not all) Americans are [expletive] retards. If I ever see this girl, I will kill her. That’s a promise.”

Other entries: “Her parents should be exterminated.”

“The [sic] is why abortion must stay legal – to prevent little bigots like this from being Born…”

“Kill this child and his [sic] parent, for my 11 birthday would be a wonderful gift, thanks.”

“Her belief is hurting other people. I will attack her as much as I please.”

“Parents like hers should be sterilized…”

“I’m gonna kill ‘er!”

Her father, Karl Crank, began compiling these threats and abusive comments. “I collected a 45-page file of the profane cursing, near-threats, threats, and death threats. I gave up collecting these about a week after Sarah’s testimony. Just too many of them to track. And, I wasn’t ever going to track all those people down to confront them, and the police weren’t swayed by this file, and the FBI never returned my call.”

There is now an undergoing campaign of harassment toward the Crank family by the homosexual activist community.

One website is dedicated to having Sarah Crank stripped of her title as the 2011 Junior Miss Greenbelt, which according to the pageant is a competition “designed to teach girls poise and self confidence, how to be at ease with themselves and others, and how to have fun in a team effort toward a common goal.” The website encourages gay activists to contact the corporate sponsors of Miss Greenbelt and demand that the “money, crown and sash” be stripped from Sarah and returned to the pageant.

Another group seeks to have the home-schooling Crank parents investigated by child services.

On and on it goes to many thousands of instances of hostile harassment.

If this makes you hopping mad, then please pray for the Crank family. But more importantly, this instance illustrates the need for Christians to get involved in the fight to save our culture. Our children will inherit a society that is either pagan or Christian. There can be no tolerance for both in the “neutral public square” because the pagan worldview wants Christian voices silenced and those who refuse to be quiet to be put to death.

This hammers home a point that we’ve tried to make through The Forerunner since the first issue appeared in 1981. When faced with the Lordship of Jesus Christ, there really is no such thing as neutrality. Every statement we make is a moral statement that either favors or opposes God’s moral law. Every action we do and every word we say will one day be exposed and judged for all to see by Christ the King, the eternal Judge of all the universe.

Christians who dare to speak the principles of God’s moral law will find themselves in a conflict – a cosmic war that has gone on from the beginning of time. It should not come as a surprise when the world and the devil are against us as we advance Christ’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. We can be comforted in knowing that we will win in the end. However, in order to be victorious, we need to stand firmly on the winning side without compromise. To do that, we stand for the Lordship of Jesus in all areas of human life. But make no mistake about it, the true faith is a deadly serious call to take up our cross and suffer the insults, murderous threats and even death for the cause of Christ.

“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).

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