Category Archives: Marriage & Family

Washington Post: Jewish leaders in the media are in large part responsible for American acceptance of gay marriage, Vice President Biden said Tuesday night.

KOLOTV.com: The Assembly voted 27-14 Thursday in favor of SJR13 which repeals language in the Nevada Constitution that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

CBS (Minnesota): The group that pushed Minnesota lawmakers to legalize gay marriage disclosed Wednesday it invested more than $2 million in the successful lobbying effort. Minnesotans United for All Families.

Huffington Post: Seventy-two percent of African-American children are raised in single-parent households, according to the most recent figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And while the impact of single-parenthood, which reportedly entered the public consciousness around 1965, can be seen in performance at school, rates of imprisonment and poverty, and drug use, regardless of race, a new study by researchers at Rice University says the consequences of living with an unwed mother has expanded into another area — children’s waistlines.

The Atlantic: That’s according to a new infographic from the Williams Institute at UCLA. The figure shows that many of the highest percentages of same-sex couples raising children are found in states that ban gay marriage.

Daniel Peterson at Deseret News: Universal legal acceptance of same-sex marriage may be, as its advocates triumphantly insist, inevitable in the United States. Several states now recognize such marriages, the trend seems to be sweeping Western Europe, and surveys consistently show high and rising support for gay marriage among younger people.

American Federation for Children: The American Federation for Children, the nation’s voice for educational choice, today applauded the Iowa Legislature after both chambers unanimously passing House Bill 225, which increases the amount of tax credits School Tuition Organizations (STO) can receive, from $8.75 million to $12 million a year.

David Brooks at NY Times: About two years ago, the folks at Google released a database of 5.2 million books published between 1500 and 2008. You can type a search word into the database and find out how frequently different words were used at different epochs. The database doesn’t tell you how the words were used; it just tells you how frequently they were used. Still, results can reveal interesting cultural shifts.

Baptist Press: A record number of Americans believe homosexuality is morally acceptable and is something people are born with, according a new Gallup poll.

World Net Daily: A recent military report on sexual assault in the military shocked many in Washington and around the nation, but a leading expert on military personnel revealed the prevalence of men assaulting other men is one of the major headlines in this study.

CNSNews: A large majority of Americans hold a bleak outlook on the state of morality in the United States, as 72% said the nation’s moral values are “getting worse,” and only 20% said that moral values are “getting better,” according to a recent Gallup survey

Volokh Conspiracy: I just ran across the Tennessee statute, Tenn Code Ann. § 36-6-404, that provides the factors that courts are to consider in determining physical custody as between two parents. Many states have such lists of factors, but the bold text seems to me to be unique to Tennessee . . .

AP: The Boy Scouts of America will convene a two-day meeting of 1,400 local leaders to consider changing its long-standing ban on openly gay boys in the scouting movement.

Christian Post: As America waits with bated breath for the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage, one Ohio church became the target of gay marriage supporters after it advertised an event celebrating biblical marriages that promised to reward husband and wife couples with free $25 Chick-fil-A gift cards.

USA Today: An 18-year-old Florida cheerleader is facing felony charges that she had sexual contact with her underage, 14-year-old girlfriend, leading gay rights advocates to say the teen is being unfairly targeted for a common high school romance because she’s gay.

Windy City Media Group: With the end of the Illinois’ spring legislation session just days away, LGBT leaders say that equal marriage legislation has the support needed to pass by month’s end.

The Guardian: Unless the federal government or supreme court act, southern states will most likely oppose gay marriage for the foreseeable future . . . Indeed, demographic models indicate that if put up for a vote, same-sex marriage would become legal in all but six states by 2020! Even Mississippi is projected to be up to near 40% support on the issue, gaining a little over 1.5pt per year. So the whole thing should be over soon, right? Not likely.

AP: Two people familiar with the Senate immigration deliberations say the White House has suggested to Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy that it would be best to put off a controversy over gay marriage until a bill goes before the full Senate.

Gallup: Their acceptance of gay and lesbian relations has increased the most, up 19 percentage points in the past 12 years — to a record high of 59% today. Americans’ tolerance toward having a baby outside of marriage is also now much greater, up 15 points since 2001, to the current 60%.

NPR: As the country awaits two important Supreme Court decisions involving state laws on same-sex marriage, a small but consistent body of research suggests that laws that ban gay marriage — or approve it — can affect the mental health of gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans.

Washington Post: But real life doesn’t stop just because the justices have commenced their labors. And what has happened since raises the question of how events outside the Marble Palace affect the deliberations within.

Wall Street Journal: Despite the growing evidence that colleges and universities cost too much, deliver too little and push too many young people into a lifetime of debt, the idea of going to college remains a key part of the American Dream. Now William Bennett, a former secretary of education and the author of “The Book of Virtues” (1996)—along with his co-author, David Wilezol—takes on a question that parents and teens are starting to ask: Is college worth the ever-increasing price tag? The authors’ answer is a hesitant “yes,” but with plenty of provisos and warnings about bigger problems ahead.

Review Journal: A constitutional amendment that would let voters decide whether to legalize gay marriage passed another hurdle Thursday when an Assembly panel voted in favor of Senate Joint Resolution 13.

Politico: Senate Democrats are in such a bind over addressing gay rights under immigration reform that they’re turning to President Barack Obama for help.

National Catholic Register: Almost 20% of Americans say TV has shifted their opinion in favor of the redefinition of marriage.

CBS Baltimore: Sex show controversy. A fight in court over a sex fetish festival that was set to come to Canton this weekend. Wednesday night, the community moved to block the adult entertainment.

National Review Bench Memos: The National Catholic Committee on Scouting has issued a statement that, if properly applied, ought to require faithful Catholic scout leaders to vote against the Boy Scouts of America’s proposed resolution to allow openly gay youth members. The NCCS statement reads in part (emphasis added) . . .

CNN: The adoptive parents of a child born with male and female organs say South Carolina mutilated their son by choosing a gender and having his male genitalia surgically removed.

Washington Post: A clear majority of Virginia voters now support legal same-sex marriage, a sharp reversal from a 2006 vote to amend the state constitution to define marriage as for a man and woman only.

CNSNews: While the White House claims its stimulus package “supported as many as 3.5 million jobs,” none were yielded from a $152,000 project to ready lesbians for “adoptive parenthood.”

Catholic World Report: A couple years ago my parents finally obtained the financial means to visit Ireland. They were able to spend three weeks in the homeland of our ancestors. They travelled the country and visited all the places associated with our ancestry—which, of course, included several pubs. They met wonderful and friendly people who were either distant relatives or knew the local histories associated with the people from whom we came.

John Zmirak at Aleteia: Marriage is under assault, and in just the last month, we have seen some surprising, depressing concessions: Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi opined to the press that Christians could accept “civil unions” of same-sex couples. Former Republican vice-presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan told a town hall meeting in Wisconsin that while he still opposed homosexual “marriage,” he supported the “right” of same-sex couples to adopt children. Evangelical Christian pastors, afraid of alienating younger members of their churches, have begun to back away from this issue. Even Catholic and Evangelical leaders whose views are orthodox have become reluctant to “pick this hill to die on.” A gifted writer and Catholic priest confessed to me, “I have held off on commenting on the marriage issue. I’m just too frightened of the backlash.”

The article by Steve Petrow at the NY Times is here.

Talking Points Memo: Far more Arizonans support same-sex marriage than oppose it, according to the latest Rocky Mountain Poll released Tuesday. The poll showed that 55 percent of Arizona voters favor the idea.

Sacramento Bee: Two bills aimed at eliminating obstacles facing transgender people cleared the Assembly largely along party lines Thursday, including one measure to let students choose the bathroom and sports team that correlates with their gender identity. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, said his Assembly Bill 1266 would force school districts to comply with current laws prohibiting discrimination against transgender students.

Gallup: Fifty-three percent of Americans say the law should recognize same-sex marriages, the third consecutive reading of 50% or above in Gallup polling over the past year. The 53% in favor ties the high to this point, also measured last November and in May 2011.

Baptist Press: A bill that would allow boys who say they identify as girls to use the girls’ restrooms and locker rooms, and vice versa, passed the California Assembly Thursday (May 9) and now heads to the state Senate.

Statesman Journal: Data about sexual orientation are scarce on college campuses, leading an Oregon graduate student to turn to lawmakers for help to collect research.

Chicago Tribune: Gov. Pat Quinn called on the Illinois House to send him legislation to legalize gay marriage, saying lawmakers have had plenty of time to make up their mind on the issue.

CNN: Student loan debt is leading some borrowers to put off buying a home, saving for retirement or even getting hitched — and many now regret taking out the loans in the first place.

WCSH6.com: Every Thursday, anti-abortion protestors gather outside a family planning clinic in Augusta. They hope through prayers and pictures they can get women to change their minds about having an abortion. While they protest outside, some Maine lawmakers are working inside the state house on 3 abortion bills.

Catherine Rampell at NY Times: The share of births to unmarried mothers is up, according to a new report from the Census Bureau.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune is here.

EdenPrairie Patch: After remaining publically undecided through much of the same-sex marriage debate, Rep. Jenifer Loon (R-District 48B) endorsed a measure from Rep. Tim Kelly (R-District 21A) to remove the term “marriage” from state law for both heterosexual and homosexual couples.

Michael Ebnet at Star Tribune: But a growing number of us don’t believe there’s anything unique about gender when it comes to raising a family. Not that long ago, the book “Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus ” sold 50 million copies because its explanation of why men were different from women resonated with many. Today, many people see the sexes as interchangeable.

Miami Herald: With more Native Americans making similar demands, the Suquamish tribe is one of three that have signed off on marriage by same-sex couples, laws that apply only on their land. Legal analysts predict that more tribes will follow, giving new rights to what many Native Americans call “two-spirit” individuals, who carry both a feminine and masculine spirit. Still, the issue is far from settled in Indian country.

KRMG.com: Paul and Hava spend their days together but state law requires they return to their respective state sanctioned non-profit facilities at night. You see both are developmentally disabled.

GLAD: Today, the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and other child welfare organizations filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in support of a transgender girl who experienced discrimination …

Mercury News: Confronting a Silicon Valley woman’s unusual legal plight, the California Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared reluctant to strip legal rights from spouses who truly believe they are married but may not have taken all the technical steps to make sure their paperwork is right under state law.

Lyle Denniston at Constitution Daily: If the Constitution takes at least part of its meaning from the way elected officials react to a high-profile public policy issue, the supporters of same-sex marriage have reason to be optimistic right now. In the space of less than a week, Rhode Island and then Delaware became the 10th and 11th states to allow gay marriage (along with Washington, D.C.). But is that a trend that the Supreme Court is ready to advance—or will choose to leave alone to see how it goes?

The Barna Group: One common thread in every survey has been the significant number of Millennials among these “Nones.” The initial Pew survey found that nearly one-in-three members of the Millennial generation (32%) has no religious affiliation. But, who are these faithless twentysomethings? Where did they come from? Did they ever claim faith? And what is it about religion that has left them cold?

Sussex Countian: “Marriage equality passes Delaware Senate; Gov. immediately signs into law”
Jordan Lorence, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom had concerns about the potential legal ramifications of the bill. “This state bans marital status discrimination. By passing this bill you will be changing the definition of marital status. People who don’t support this bill will be branded as bigots. If this is meant as a culture changing bill, those who believe in traditional marriage, defined as only one man and one woman, can only express that opinion with in four walls and not affect anybody else. If it goes anywhere else there are public accommodations laws already set that would come against them.”

HSLDA: Last week, HSLDA sent a nationwide alert asking you to call your U.S. senators and urge them to sign a letter from Senator Chuck Grassley exhorting Congress to defund the federal government’s role in the Common Core Standards and Curriculum.

Religion Clause Blog: The Louisiana Supreme Court today in a 6-1 decision held that the state’s school voucher program enacted in 2012 violates the state constitution.  In Louisiana Federation of Teachers v. State of Louisiana, (LA Sup. Ct., May 7, 2013) . . .

The American Federation for Children, the nation’s voice for educational choice, today urged the Louisiana Legislature and Governor to find a legislative solution after the Louisiana Supreme Court struck down the current funding mechanism for state’s voucher program. The Court only ruled against the funding of the voucher program and did not strike down the constitutionality of the program.

Matthew Schmitz at First Things: Heterosexual exchange and reproduction has always been the very “grammar” of social relating as such. The abandonment of this grammar would thus imply a society no longer primarily constituted by extended kinship, but rather by state control and merely monetary exchange and reproduction.

KARE11.com: “You have to have proof that he’s not representing. Well, the proof was in the last election when you have 62.5 percent of the voters (in the district) that voted for traditional marriage,” he told KARE 11. Radinovich recently announced he supports same sex marriage legislation.

LiveScience: “This is because traditional economic models of marriage have argued that men who have high earning potential are more likely to marry at an older age so that they can ‘reveal’ their high potential,” explained Hani Mansour, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Colorado Denver. [I Don't: 5 Myths About Marriage]

TwinCities.com: A Senate Finance Committee will review the potential fiscal impact of a bill allowing same-sex couples to wed at a meeting Tuesday morning, May 7. A companion bill cleared the House Ways and Means Committee on a voice vote Monday night, May 6. Both are last stops before potential floor vote in each chamber.

Illinois Review reports.

Chicago Tribune: Pat Brady, the chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, announced his resignation Tuesday amid a simmering controversy over his support for gay marriage legislation.

CNSNews: Bishop Thomas Tobin, head of the Catholic diocese of Providence, said the “gay marriage” bill signed into law in Rhode Island by its governor, Lincoln Chafee, constituted a “new challenge of the post-Christian era into which, clearly, we have now entered.”

Star Tribune: Legalizing same-sex marriage will eventually cost the state about $678,000 a year, a new report has found. The new wrinkle will send a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage to another committee test in the Minnesota House on Monday. The measure could then go to the House floor in coming days.

ABC: A former rural Iowa court official pleaded guilty Monday to forgery for filing false documents to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple from central Florida, in the first case of its kind in Iowa.

CNSNews: The results of a Boy Scouts of America (BSA) survey shows that a majority of members support keeping in place the policy that prohibits homosexuals from joining or leading the organization.

ACLU: The Red Lion Area School District (RLASD) has refused to change its policy regarding transgender candidates for prom court, nor will it agree to allow transgender students to use a name at graduation to match their gender identity, according to a letter from the school district’s solicitor.

Mercury News: And now Nancy Ceja finds herself in the midst of a legal quagmire over whether, in fact, she was truly married in the eyes of the law solely because she believed she was legally married. As it turned out, the ink had not yet dried on Robert Ceja’s divorce to his previous wife when they exchanged vows — and that may deprive Nancy Ceja of the right to sue his former company for wrongful death.

Ryan T. Anderson at Red State: When a baby is born, a mother always is nearby. The question is whether a father will be involved in the life of that child and, if so, for how long. Marriage increases the odds that a man will be committed to both the children that he helps create and to the woman with whom he does so.

Steve Deace at Townhall: Last week’s column on getting the state out of marriage prompted some follow-up questions, which in this week’s piece I will attempt to answer.

Ryan Anderson at NY Daily News: Same-sex marriage will never be widely accepted in America for a simple reason: It’s based on a lie. But don’t take my word on this; leading LGBT scholars and activists say as much.

Wall Street Journal (access via Google): Senators began laying the groundwork Sunday for formal debate on immigration-overhaul legislation, including a provision that would extend immigration rights for same-sex couples.

Erwin Chemersinsky at ABA Journal: No decisions are more eagerly awaited from the U.S. Supreme Court than those in the marriage equality cases. Hollingsworth v. Perry and United States v. Windsor were argued on March 26 and 27, and most expect that the decisions will be announced at the end of June. Having just re-read the transcripts of the arguments, a few things seem clear.

Engage Family Minute provides a quick summary.

National Review: They say that ‘homosexuality’ or ‘homosexual’ is used and hurled at people who are gay as a slur,” Kornheiser explained, saying he was unaware of the issue but will use the network’s preferred word. ESPN has also singled out the term “sexual preference,” saying it wants employees to use “sexual orientation” instead.

LifeSiteNews: An American sports analyst for global TV network ESPN has stirred the left into a frenzy after expressing Christian views on homosexuality following a basketball star’s recent announcement that he is homosexual.