PORT ORANGE, Fla. -- The honking cars and loud cheers from passing motorists were like symphony music to the ears Maredy Hanford and nearly two dozen other parishioners from Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church in Port Orange at the intersection of Ridgewood and Dunlawton avenues.
They were there from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday protesting gay marriage.
Photos for Headline Surfer® / The Hanfords could not have picked a better locale in all of Port Orange -- standing on the south side of Dunlawton Avenue at the intersection with Ridgewood Avenue, aka US 1, with the beaches on the other side of the Dunlawton Bridge to the east, New Smyrna Beach to the south on Ridgewood and South Daytona and Daytona Beach to the north.
They were there from noon to 2 p.m. under the hot Florida sun with nearly two dozen members of their church that were part of a national Rosary Rally in advance of the US Supreme Court's expected ruling on the constitutionality of gay marriage.
Maredy Hanford insisted in an interview with Headline Surfer® from the scene of the peaceful demonstration that true marriage is exclusively "between a man and a woman" and "as God intended it."
Hanford said she and her husband, Walter, both 55 and married for 30 years with two grown sons, are mindful of the upcoming ruling expected by month's end from the US Supreme Court regarding same-sex marriages.
"We want to have the law of the land to be marriage as it is in the Bible," she told the internet newspaper in a video interview, presented with this story.
Maredy Hanford, shown here, insisted in an interview with Headline Surfer® from the scene of the peaceful demonstration that true marriage is exclusively "between a man and a woman" and "as God intended it."
Hanford said she and her husband, Walter, both 55 and married for 30 years with two grown sons, are mindful of the upcoming ruling expected by month's end from the US Supreme Court regarding same-sex marriages.
"We want to have the law of the land to be marriage as it is in the Bible," she told the internet newspaper in a video interview, presented with this story.
Here's what's at issue before the High Court as described by USA Today, which points out that most legal experts predict the court, led by Justice Anthony Kennedy, will rule in favor of the gay and lesbian couples:
• Same-sex marriage -- A ruling on the constitutionality of same sex marriage is likely to occur in the final days of the current term of the court; perhaps June 29 or 30. The justices are expected to decide whether gay and lesbian couples have a constitutional right to marry or whether state bans against gay marriage will stand.
• The justices have consolidated cases from six states for the historic ruling: Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee, with a total of 32 plaintiffs asking for the right to marry or to have marriages licensed elsewhere recognized in their home states.
While the Hanfords understand the US Supreme Court may rule in favor of same-sex mrriage, they are praying the justices find the wisdom to support the Christian values from which this country was fiunded even as the Constitution emphasizes the separation of chruch and state.
While Maredy Hanford dealt with organizing the protesters, husband, Walter, focused on holding up one side of the main banner sign that read: "God's Marriage = 1 Man + 1 Woman."
The demonstration was mostly well-received, he said.
"For the most part we had very supportive feedback from drivers," Walter Hanford said.
Asked if they had to deal with naysayers, including those who may have given the proverbial middle finger, Hanford responded, "Yes, there were a few people that expressed themselves in a crude manner. They were the exception. Most people were civil and positive."
Asked if they had to deal with naysayers, including those who may have given the proverbial middle finger, Walter Hanford responded, "Yes, there were a few people that expressed themselves in a crude manner. They were the exception. Most people were civil and positive."