Tag Archives: Category: Marriage and Family

FRC Washington Update: After the ACLU filed a second lawsuit, Barronelle turned to our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). Together, they’re countersuing Washington for violating her Christian beliefs. “Marriage has religious significance,” ADF argues, “apart from any civil significance. [Stutzman] believed that [servicing a gay marriage] would compel her to express a message with her creativity that violates God’s commands.”

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.

The Advocate: “In America, the government is supposed to protect freedom, not use its intolerance for certain viewpoints to intimidate citizens into acting contrary to their faith convictions. Family business owners are constitutionally guaranteed the freedom to live and work according to their beliefs,” said Dale Schowengerdt, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is defending Stutzman.

Pink News: Attorneys from the Alliance Defending Freedom legal ministry, filed the new lawsuit on behalf of Stutzman on Thursday, at Benton County Superior Court, reports the Associated Press. Senior Legal Counsel Dale Schowengerdt, released in a statement saying: ”Everyone knows that plenty of florists are willing to assist in same-sex ceremonies, so the state has no reason to force Barronelle to violate her deeply held beliefs.”

Christian Post: “Everyone knows that plenty of florists are willing to assist in same-sex ceremonies, so the state has no reason to force Barronelle to violate her deeply held beliefs,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Dale Schowengerdt in a statement. “In America, the government is supposed to protect freedom, not use its intolerance for certain viewpoints to intimidate citizens into acting contrary to their faith convictions. Family business owners are constitutionally guaranteed the freedom to live and work according to their beliefs. It is this very freedom that gives America its cherished diversity and protects citizens from state-mandated conformity.”

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.

Ken Klukowski at Breitbart: Several major cases will be decided by the Supreme Court over the next six weeks, including historic issues such as gay marriage and affirmative action. These cases make the remainder of the Court’s term—which ends in June—one of the most carefully watched terms by millions of Americans.

The Blaze: Mothers and fathers, beware: Your days of honor may soon be expiring. An elementary school in Nova Scotia has made a curious decision to cancel Mother’s Day and Father’s Day celebrations and to, instead, replace them with a more benign “Family Day” commemoration.

Baptist Press: A florist who was told by the state of Washington she must provide her services for a gay wedding is countersuing the state, saying she has served gay customers her entire career and is concerned the state’s position on gay weddings will harm religious freedom.

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.

Think Progress: The suit claims that Stutzman is entitled to religious conscience protections that allow her to ignore nondiscrimination protections, as ADF attorney Dale Schowengerdt attempted to explain to WorldNetDaily . . .

Towerload: “In America, the government is supposed to protect freedom, not use its intolerance for certain viewpoints to intimidate citizens into acting contrary to their faith convictions,” said Alliance Senior Legal Counsel Dale Schowengerdt. “Family business owners are constitutionally guaranteed the freedom to live and work according to their beliefs. It is this very freedom that gives America its cherished diversity and protects citizens from state-mandated conformity.

On Top Magazine: Dale Schowengerdt, senior legal counsel with the ADF, said Stutzman had a right to refuse service based on her religious convictions. “In America, the government is supposed to protect freedom, not use its intolerance for certain viewpoints to intimidate citizens into acting contrary to their faith convictions,” he said. “Family business owners are constitutionally guaranteed the freedom to live and work according to their beliefs.”

Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty: The counter suit, filed by an anti-gay-marriage group called Alliance Defending Freedom, argues that Ferguson’s suit is attempting to force Barronelle Stutzman to act contrary to her religious convictions in violation of her freedoms under the state constitution.

Seattle Post Intelligencer: “In America, the government is supposed to protect freedom, not use its intolerance for certain viewpoints to intimidate citizens into acting contrary to their faith convictions. Family business owners are constitutionally guaranteed the freedom to live and work according to their beliefs,” said Dale Schowengerdt, senior legal counsel with the Arizona-based group.

Seattle Times (AP): Barronelle Stutzman of Arlene’s Flowers claims the state is violating her religious beliefs. The Tri-City Herald reports that attorneys for Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal ministry, filed the suit Thursday in Benton County Superior Court on behalf of Stutzman.

Gayopolis: Whenever there’s a lawsuit like this, scratch the surface and you’ll find the odious Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly the Alliance Defense Fund) behind it. One more thing to thank Arizona for.

Tri-CityHerald:“Everyone knows that plenty of florists are willing to assist in same-sex ceremonies, so the state has no reason to force Barronelle to violate her deeply held beliefs,” attorney Dale Schowengerdt with Alliance Defending Freedom said in a statement.

NW News Network: Her lead counsel, Dale Schowengerdt says, there is no reason to use the state’s anti-discrimination law to force her to provide flowers for this ceremony. In fact, he says her religious rights and freedom are rooted in the state’s constitution.

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

Buzz Feed: In a short letter dated May 2, a Navy official told Autumn Sandeen, a veteran and transgender activist: “Per your request the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) has been updated to show your gender as female effective April 12, 2013.”

Josh Israel at Think Progress: The Losing Arguments Of Anti-LGBT ‘Alliance Defending Freedom’

ADF testimony in Minnesota, Colorado, and Washington all failed to sway legislators. Asked whether ADF believes its tact has been effective or swayed any lawmakers’ votes, legal counsel Jim Campbell told ThinkProgress: “First Amendment-protected freedoms are vital to the continued flourishing of our constitutional republic. They should not be ignored by state legislators who vote to redefine marriage. The failure to respect freedoms long-enshrined in our Constitution will lead to needless litigation. Sadly, even when those rights are eventually vindicated in court, the legal process will take a significant toll on innocent citizens who are simply trying to live in accordance with their conscience. Alliance Defending Freedom will be at the forefront of defending those Americans.”

King5.com: “In America, the government is supposed to protect freedom, not use its intolerance for certain viewpoints to intimidate citizens into acting contrary to their faith convictions,” said Alliance Senior Legal Counsel Dale Schowengerdt. “Family business owners are constitutionally guaranteed the freedom to live and work according to their beliefs. It is this very freedom that gives America its cherished diversity and protects citizens from state-mandated conformity.”

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing a Washington florist sued by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a countersuit against him Thursday.

Zenit: The archbishop said the decision “also renders senseless the very idea of President Obama’s National Fatherhood Initiative, in that a bill now becomes law in Minnesota that effectively claims that a mother and a father together are superfluous and can be replaced by two men or two women.”

Baptist Press at Townhall: Joining Winter in signing the letter are Land, Morality in Media President Patrick A. Trueman, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, Alliance Defending Freedom President Alan Sears and Focus on the Family Senior Vice President Tom Minnery, among others. The letter urges Congress to make sure the FCC takes “seriously its duty to enforce federal law 18 U. S. C. 1464, limiting indecency and profanity on the publicly owned airwaves to times of day when children are much less likely to be in the audience.

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.

NY Times: The command was read at 10 consecutive roll calls. Each of the city’s 34,000 officers, in theory, got the message: For “simply exposing their breasts in public,” women are guilty of no crime

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.”

The Hill: “Not only has the IRS retaliated against conservative, small-government and tea party groups as they apply for recognition of tax exemption AND lied about it, but it has criminally released our confidential tax return including the identity of dozens of major donors to a political enemy,” said Brian Brown, NOM’s president.

YouTube: In this Two-Minute Warning John Stonestreet interviews Ryan Anderson from the Heritage Foundation on the topic of same-sex marriage.

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.

Tony Perkins at LifeSiteNews: Now, some in Congress want to get in on the act with a bill that would intentionally deprive children of a mother. Under this legislation, the government would punish any adoption agency that gives priority to married, heterosexual couples.

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.”

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.

Patheos: Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Gregory S. Baylor, whose organization argued for the constitutionality of the program, defended it on the grounds that “parents should be able to choose what’s best for their own children.” “The ultimate winners in the Indiana Supreme Court’s decision are Indiana families who want to provide the best education for their children, whether it is public or private,” Baylor said March 26.

AP: The Minnesota Senate voted Monday to make gay marriage legal, the last legislative step before Gov. Mark Dayton’s promised signature will make the state the 12th in the U.S. to do so.

KFOXTV.com: When you combine the results from polling firms like Gallup, Pew the General Social Survey there were 12 things 90% of American’s say they believed in.

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.

Bloomberg: “We would certainly hope that the Supreme Court would vacate everything that had happened since the beginning of the case,” said Austin Nimocks, a lawyer on the team defending Proposition 8. “If there’s no standing, then there never was an actual case, meaning that there were no legitimate rulings.” At most, Nimocks says, the two same-sex couples would be entitled to a so-called default judgment, letting them marry without affecting the rest of the state.

But that would have meant the organization would have to be a political committee under New York law, just as candidate committees and political parties are. The organization would then have to register with the state board of elections, comply with recordkeeping requirements, and comply with extensive, periodic reporting requirements.

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.

Christian Institute: Christian printer Nick Williamson explains why he is standing up to the bullies who are trying to force him to print a gay magazine.

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.

CBS Sports: “Yes. Again, I have such great respect for our players,” Goodell said. “I don’t think it will just be tolerated, I think it will be accepted. These are individuals who play in our league. We’re all different in some fashion, and we’re accepting of our differences. That’s what this is all about.

Wisconsin Gazette: Openly gay U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan’s husband has received an ID issued only to the spouses of federal lawmakers. It is the first time the House has recognized the same-sex husband of a member with the House Spouse …

Bradley Abramson at Townhall: In fact, it can mean anything one wants it to mean. And a constitution that can mean anything is a constitution that means nothing—a mere 17 years after it supposedly meant something.

DFW Catholic: Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Gregory S. Baylor, whose organization argued for the constitutionality of the program, defended it on the grounds that “parents should be able to choose what’s best for their own children.” “The ultimate winners in the Indiana Supreme Court’s decision are Indiana families who want to provide the best education for their children, whether it is public or private,” Baylor said March 26.

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

Star Tribune: The state Senate plans to consider the bill Monday and leaders expect it to pass there too. Gov. Mark Dayton has pledged to sign it into law.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune is here.

Winona Daily News: The House is scheduled to debate and vote today on a measure that would make the state the 12th in the country to allow gay marriage. An amendment posted Wednesday from GOP Rep. David FitzSimmons suggests reframing the bill’s proposed changes to Minnesota’s marriage laws, swapping in the term “civil marriages” in all instances whether couples are of the same or different genders.

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?

Washington Times: The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday that beginning with the 2014-2015 federal student aid form, the Department will — for the first time — collect income “from a dependent student’s legal parents regardless of the parents’ marital status or gender, if those parents live together.”

Education Week: A federal appeals court on Thursday reinstated a Michigan law that bars school districts from deducting teachers’ union dues for their employees. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, in Cincinnati, ruled 2-1 that the state’s Act 53, a 2012 measure that by its own terms was meant as “a check on union power,” likely does not violate the free speech or equal protection rights of teachers’ unions.

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.”

One News Now: Nicole Theis, president of Delaware Family Policy Council, says there is no protection in the bill for people of faith . . . And we’ll be there with our partners at the Alliance Defending Freedom ready to defend the religious liberties of the good people of Delaware who find themselves in situations where their rights are being violated,” states the DFPC leader.

ThinkProgress: Unsurprisingly, one witness cited the debunked Regnerus study, while an Alliance Defending Freedom attorney claimed that the Ocean Grove pavilion in New Jersey was an example of “religious freedom” being violated, even though it wasn’t. A motion by opponents to table the bill failed 9-12.

On Top Magazine: Jordan Lorence, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a leading group representing clients who claim equal marriage laws violate their Christian beliefs, argued that allowing same-sex couples to marry would lead to discrimination against Christians. He warned that the bill’s true objective was to foster “a cultural change” and shun opponents as “bigots.”

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.