Tag Archives: Category: Marriage and Family

Eugene Volokh at the Volokh Conspiracy: The Center for Law and Religion Forum had a post a couple of weeks ago about a talk by Erwin Chemerinsky (dean of the new UC Irvine law school), in which he made a rather striking proposal. Indeed, Dean Chemerinsky has made the proposal in print several years ago, in an article titled Separate and Unequal: American Public Education Today, so I thought I’d quote that article and put the matter in Chemerinsky’s own words, because I think it more broadly illuminates the danger that excessive equality arguments pose to liberty . . . A clearer example of how an excessive focus on equality undermines liberty is hard to find. And the implications of this argument, if it were accepted, are striking.

Religion Clause Blog: Vos Iz Neias? reported yesterday on a federal lawsuit filed in a New York federal district court by a minor student enrolled in a Nassau county yeshiva and by her father against the New York State Assembly and its legislative leaders.

Denver Post: Kellie Fiedorek with the Alliance Defending Freedom said the bill “fails to provide significant safeguards for the religious liberties of all Coloradans.”

On Topic Magazine: Christian conservative groups which oppose the measure, such as the Alliance Defending Freedom and CitizenLink, the political arm of Focus on the Family, said the measure threatened religious freedom.

Daily Caller: Many of those opposed to the bill said that it discriminated against those who are opposed to same-sex civil unions for religious reasons, with an attorney for the conservative group Alliance Defending Freedom equating it to “religious intolerance.”

Daily Camera (includes video): Kellie Fiedorek with the Alliance Defending Freedom said the bill “fails to provide significant safeguards for the religious liberties of all Coloradans.”

Times Union (AP): Attorney Kellie Fiedorek, with Alliance Defending Freedom, which opposes the measure, said she’s concerned that the legislation violates people’s religious beliefs. She cited as an example a photographer in New Mexico who refused to shoot a same-sex wedding because of her beliefs and was later sued. “It’s important to note that it’s not a belief about homosexual behavior, it’s a belief that marriage is between one man and one woman and should be protected and strengthened by society, not undermined. Yet where these laws are enacted, people of faith are being persecuted, often forced to suffer economic loss.”

Ryan Smith at Wall Street Journal: Yes, a woman is as capable as a man of pulling a trigger. But the goal of our nation’s military is to fight and win wars. Before taking the drastic step of allowing women to serve in combat units, has the government considered whether introducing women into the above-described situation would have made my unit more or less combat effective?

The Record (Jan. 24 email): The Christian Civic League will host a free webinar on Feb. 24 with Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys who will answer questions about how the redefinition of marriage in Maine can affect your church or ministry. The ADF attorneys want to be well prepared and have requested that we send them our questions now. If you have a question, please contact Carroll Conley: clcll@yahoo.com 659-6447.

NewsMax: Former Navy SEAL commander and Montana State Sen. Ryan Zinke reacted sharply Wednesday to news the Obama administration will drop the prohibition against women serving in military combat roles, warning it is “nearly certain” to cost lives.

Andrew Cohen at The Atlantic: On Tuesday, the first substantive brief was filed in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Prop 8 case now under review by the Supreme Court. The document was filed by lawyers representing a group of citizens who took over the case after California’s elected officials refused to continue to defend the measure. I’m still not convinced that their arguments are going to persuade Justice Anthony Kennedy to save Prop 8. And without his vote the measure is doomed. But these are about the best legal arguments that can be offered in support of this dubious measure, and they are laid out more impressively here than I have yet seen while covering this case.

FlaglerLive.com: The ACLU of Florida intervened today on behalf of a Lake County middle-school student leader seeking to establish a gay-straight alliance (GSA) at Carver Middle School in Leesburg. The eighth grader spearheading the effort, Bayli Silberstein, says the club is needed to combat bullying at her school, but has faced administrative resistance in trying to establish it.

Center for Military Readiness report.

Ed Whelan at National Review Bench Memos: Yesterday the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the House of Representatives filed its merits brief in the Supreme Court in defense of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The remainder of this post is the “Summary of the Argument” from the brief . . .

Fox News: Senior defense officials say Pentagon chief Leon Panetta is removing the military’s ban on women serving in combat, opening hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and potentially elite commando jobs after more than a decade at war.

Baltimore Sun: According to New York Times columnist Frank Bruni, just hours after Baltimore’s AFC championship win, Ayanbadejo directed an e-mail to marriage equality advocates asking how he could utilize the increased Super Bowl media to help support same-sex marriage.

Brian Brown at CNSNews: Sadly, the President squandered this opportunity when he chose to proclaim that our journey as a people would not be complete until gay and lesbian people are “treated like anyone under the law,” a not-so-veiled reference to his politically-motivated decision to endorse the radical movement to redefine marriage, one of our most sacred institutions. First of all, gay and lesbian people are already treated equally under the law. They have the same civil rights as everyone else. They’re free to live as they choose and love whom they wish. What they don’t have is the right to redefine marriage for society.

San Francisco Chronicle: Sponsors of California’s ban on same-sex marriage told the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday that the scope of legally recognized unions shouldn’t be decided in the federal courts – which thus far have found Proposition 8 unconstitutional – but in ongoing debate within the states.

Education News: Introducing more school choice to parents could save Texas billions of dollars and result in higher pay for public school teachers, a witness testified Tuesday in the lawsuit trial of the state’s school finance system.

Wisconsin Gazette: “The lifelong, faithful union of a man and a woman is the foundation of every healthy, stable society. The people of Wisconsin recognize this, and that is why they approved a constitutional amendment that specifically protects marriage from all imitators,” said ADF attorney Austin R. Nimocks. “We are appealing the appellate court’s decision because this domestic partnership scheme is precisely the type of marriage imitation that the voters intended to prevent.”

iance Defending Freedom Litigation Counsel Kellie Fiedorek will testify Wednesday on the lack of safeguards for religious freedom in a Colorado bill (SB 13-011) that proposes to create “civil unions.”

AP: President Barack Obama’s emphatic gay-rights advocacy in his inaugural address thrilled many activists. Yet almost immediately came the questions and exhortations as to what steps should be taken next.

HSLDA: The Supreme Court of Nebraska will decide whether homeschoolers Eric and Gail Thacker violated Nebraska law because their homeschool calendar didn’t start until October while the public schools began in August.

SCOTUS Blog: The Republican members of the House of Representatives’ leadership — the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) — have filed their brief on the merits in the Defense of Marriage Act case.  It can be read here.

SCOTUS Blog: California citizens who put together the winning ballot measure against same-sex marriage in that state told the Supreme Court on Tuesday afternoon that the state supreme court clearly gave them the right to defend the constitutionality of that measure — “Proposition 8.”

Journal-Sentinel: On Tuesday, the Alliance Defending Freedom announced it and other groups had petitioned the high court to hear an appeal of the December ruling. “We are appealing the appellate court’s decision because this domestic partnership schemed is precisely the type of o marriage imitation that the voters intended to prevent,” said Austin Nimucks, senior counsel with ADF in Washington, D.C. . . . Fair Wisconsin Executive Director Katie Belanger said, “It is disappointing that the plaintiffs and the Alliance Defending Freedom are continuing their efforts to take away important legal protections from same-sex couples and their families.”

Defenders of California’s marriage amendment filed their opening brief with the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday. The brief argues that the high court should affirm the validity and rational basis of the amendment and refuse demands for a judicially-imposed end to the robust, ongoing public debate about marriage.

Turnto10.com: Legislation to allow same-sex marriage in Rhode Island is headed for a vote in the state House of Representatives after being unanimously endorsed Tuesday by a legislative committee.

KRQE.com: Democratic representative Brian Egolf of Santa Fe is proposing a constitutional amendment to officially recognize same sex marriages.

WacoTrib.com: A group of Waco residents is seeking a city ordinance to bar public and private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys and allied attorneys representing Wisconsin taxpayers asked the state Supreme Court Tuesday to weigh in on the full meaning of Wisconsin’s marriage amendment and whether it authorizes the creation of other marriage-like unions.

Denver Post: Senate Bill 11is scheduled to be heard Wednesday afternoon by the Senate Judiciary Committee, starting at 1:30 p.m. The bill allows gay couples to form civil unions, and sets forth the rights, responsibilities and requirements of those entering a civil union.

WorldNetDaily: A new report on a U.S. Marines plan to put women in “tip of the spear” combat positions argues females are not “equal” when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. The report by the Center for Military Readiness, or CMR, warns America’s social experiment with the members of its military may become costly.

USA Today: With the Supreme Court poised to take up two cases that could determine the future of gay marriage, supporters of its legalization are hailing President Barack Obama’s second inaugural address as a watershed moment, as he once again publicly embraced support for legal unions between gay couples.

Religion Clause Blog: The New York Times reported yesterday that the state of Georgia’s popular tax credit program for contributions to private school scholarship programs has become controversial because more than 115 religiously sponsored schools that benefit from the program have explicit bans on attendance by gay, lesbian and bisexual students.

Bill Donohue at Newsmax: Hollywood was not given a pass because of the delicacy of the Constitution: there are First Amendment considerations in trimming the rights of the mentally ill, and there are Second Amendment rights involved in gun control. Hollywood was given a pass because it greases Obama.

Marty Lederman at SCOTUS Blog: On March 26 and 27, the Court will hear oral argument in the same-sex marriage cases, Hollingsworth v. Perry (the challenge to California’s Proposition 8) and United States v. Windsor (the challenge to Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act).  The first briefs in the cases will be filed tomorrow, on January 22.  In advance of those filings, the blog has published a series of posts by Marty Lederman of the Georgetown University Law Center on the Article III questions the Court has asked the parties to address in the two cases.  This is the final post in that series.

LA Times: The excitement that Obama’s remarks spurred among advocates of gay marriage was matched by dismay among its opponents. Byron Babione, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, which is co-counsel in the Proposition 8 case now before the Supreme Court, said it was “deeply dishonest to equate the civil rights movement to today’s homosexual activism.” “Civil rights marchers were met with batons, fire hoses, tear gas and nooses. So-called pride parades are met with Fortune 500 corporate sponsorship,” he said. “African Americans were systematically dehumanized, while homosexual activists are lionized by every powerful cultural institution and center of wealth in America.”

Zenit (links to study): The negative social consequences of divorce are well-known but a new report shows that it also leads to a decline in religious practice. On Wednesday the Institute for American Values published the findings of a group of scholars in a report titled “Does the Shape of Families Shape Faith?: Challenging the Churches to Confront the Impact of Family Change.” Every year about a million children in the United States experience the divorce of their parents, the report pointed out, and overall one-quarter of young adults come from divorced families.

Boston Globe: The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on the bill Tuesday. The legislation is expected to pass.

Washington Post: When President Obama said Monday that “our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law,” he made history by becoming the first president to advocate for gay rights in an inaugural address.

Columbian.com: Washington’s amended marriage law exempts pastors, rabbis, Imams and other clergy from having to perform same-sex weddings if they aren’t so moved. But for judges, justices and some court commissioners, who are also authorized to marry people in this state, the law is much less clear.

Russian Legal Information Agency: A Californian court has announced the verdict in a custody case involving a Russian child adopted by an American same-sex couple, the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com) reports on Monday, citing a copy of the court order.

Marine Corps Times: Sgt. Karen Alexander fought for her country in Iraq, but back home she often feels the Army is fighting against her. Married to another female soldier with a 4-year-old son, Alexander is denied the same housing allowance and other family-friendly benefits she would be entitled to if married to a man. As far as Uncle Sam is concerned, she’s still single.

Forbes: Much of civilization is based on the principle that children are best socialized in a home by two biological parents in a committed relationship. As a result, couples have always been encouraged to marry and remain married. And yet the federal tax code takes a decidedly anti-marriage stance.

NY Magazine: If you put aside the honor killings and the domestic violence and the United Nations–condemned restriction of autonomy, arranged marriages (not forced marriages) can be kind of nice, the New York Times reports. Like, what’s so bad about your parents actually liking your significant other anyway? You could really cash in on their approval.

AP: The case of a Kansas sperm donor being sued by the state for child support underscores a confusing patchwork of aging laws that govern assisted reproduction in the United States and often lead to litigation and frustration among would-be parents.

Wall Street Journal: Gay-marriage advocates plan a renewed push in New Jersey this year, but their legislative strategy hinges on persuading several state Republicans to oppose popular GOP Gov. Chris Christie and override his veto of the marriage bill last year.

NY Times: Gay marriage is now legal in nine states and in Washington, D.C. But because same-sex marriages are not recognized under federal law, the spouses of gay service members are barred from receiving medical and dental insurance and surviving spouse benefits and are not allowed to receive treatment in military medical facilities.

Sun Sentinel: The memo cites the Corporate Resource Council estimates that the coverage will increase costs by 5 percent. This Arizona-based council shares the same physical address with the Alliance Defending Freedom, which describes itself as “thousands of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations to protect religious liberty, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family in America and around the world.”

NCPA Policy Digest: When a couple’s income is largely unequal, the second earner’s additional income will not typically be large enough to raise the couple into a higher tax bracket. But for two-earner couples whose wages are similar, the relatively equal wage incomes will raise the marginal tax rate on the second salary by a substantial amount.

Marty Lederman at SCOTUS Blog: On March 26 and 27, the Court will hear oral argument in the same-sex marriage cases, Hollingsworth v. Perry (the challenge to California’s Proposition 8) and United States v. Windsor (the challenge to Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act).  The first briefs in the cases will be filed tomorrow, January 22.  In advance of those filings, the blog is publishing a series of posts by Marty Lederman of the Georgetown University Law Center on the Article III questions the Court has asked the parties to address in the two cases.  This is the penultimate post in that series.

Union Leader: A sponsor of legislation to allow parents to opt out of sex education for their children says it will mean parents will no longer have to claim religious objections to the subject matter to keep their kids out of the classes.

Marty Lederman at SCOTUS Blog: As Lyle has explained, when it granted certiorari last month in the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and Proposition 8 cases, the Court conspicuously chose to add Article III questions to be briefed and considered in each case, in addition to the merits questions posed by the petitioners.

WPRI.com: The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote on the measure for Tuesday.

Becky Garrison at the Washington Post: Therein lies the elephant in the room -the one that needs to be taken out of the closet. In mainline and more liberal religious settings, one finds the rise of an ecclesiology that embraces LGBT people in all aspects of the church’s rites including ordination and marriage. Central to this development is a refutation of “homosexuality” as a “sin” and an embrace of a more incarnational theology that views all of humanity as created good in the image of God.

Commentary Magazine: What we’re seeing is a rapid hollowing out of marriage in Middle America–with 44 percent of the children of moderately-educated mothers born outside of marriage. “We’re at a tipping point with Middle America,” W. Bradford Wilcox, a leading scholar on marriage, told National Review Online’s Kathryn Jean Lopez, “insofar as Middle Americans are on the verge of losing their connection to marriage.”

WCFCourier.com: State Court Administrator David Boyd said Wednesday he believes the Iowa Supreme Court has weathered a “perfect storm” of anti-judicial sentiment that brewed in 2010 following a controversial same-sex marriage decision and disruptive state budget cuts.

Rasmussen: A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 18% of American Adults think the current level of difficulty to adopt in this country is about right. Forty-four percent (44%) feel it is too hard to adopt a child here. Only five percent (5%) believe it’s too easy.

ACLU Blog: A small town in eastern Kentucky is making some big news. Vicco, Kentucky adopted a fairness ordinance, meaning one that prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations based upon a person’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Why is this a big deal? Vicco is now the FIRST town in Kentucky’s Appalachians to pass Fairness protections. Vicco is the FIRST Kentucky city in 10 years to approve an LGBT Fairness law. Vicco is also the FIRST rural Kentucky community to pass LGBT Fairness protections.

Ilan H. Meyer at Balkinization: At the USCCR hearing I was taken by surprise when invitees of the Republican members of the Commission opposed such recommended interventions on behalf of LGBTQ youth. In particular, I was intrigued by concerns that efforts to improve the school environment for LGBTQ students, aimed at reducing stigma and prejudice, raised First Amendment concerns. I was particularly struck by Professor Eugene Volokh’s testimony, which singled out one of my statement to the committee, saying “[O]ne of the things that [Meyer noted] is that one of the dangers to the mental health of gay students is anti-gay stigma and prejudice. I think that’s probably right, but the consequence of that is that if you take that logic seriously, then again speech, whether on campus or off campus, that expresses and contributes to the stigma of prejudice would be punishable.” As a public health researcher I have never seen such concerns voiced.

Business Week: Taking a less-hostile tone on abortion and gay rights and reducing the number of primary debates are among the steps the Republican Party could make to become more competitive in national elections, said Henry Barbour, a party leader. The nephew of former Mississippi governor and one-time Republican National Committee chairman Haley Barbour . . .

Nathaniel Zelinsky at Huffington Post: In March the Supreme Court will hear two cases regarding the constitutionality of laws against same-sex marriage. There is a chance that the high court will rule against marriage equality. Ironically, that outcome could be a partial win for LGBTQ advocates.

Erik Stanley at Speak Up Movement: For years we have been warning that same-sex “marriage” is not the end goal of the radical homosexual legal agenda. Instead, the end goal of that movement is the silencing of all dissent . . . The churches of America must speak up on this issue before it is too late and before the inevitable consequences of recognizing same-sex “marriage” fall on the church. If churches do not speak up now, then they may not have the opportunity later.

KMVT.com (includes video): The Twin Falls City council approved an addition to its anti-discrimination policy for city staff members. One of the council members said this is a step forward for the city because they were behind in the time.

KLEWTV.COM: The Lewiston City Council voted on a policy change that prohibits discrimination against hiring a particular group of citizens. It’s a topic that’s often avoided due to its controversial nature. Members of the Lewiston City Council went back and forth Monday evening, discussing whether or not to add sexual orientation language to the city’s non-discrimination hiring clause.

USA Today: Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama’s pick for Defense secretary, supports equal benefits for same-sex military couples. He made the pledge in a Monday letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. . . .

The Republic: Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said Friday he plans to defend the state’s ban on gay marriage with a pair of briefs that will be filed in the coming Supreme Court battle.

Providence Journal: The committee voted at the start of the meeting to hold the bill for further study. A vote to send it to the House floor could happen next week at the earliest, said House spokesman Larry Berman.

Star Tribune: Minnesota’s divisive fight over same-sex marriage is moving to a Capitol showdown. Supporters of legalization are preparing to roll out House and Senate proposals as early as next month. Legislative leaders who shied away from the issue earlier now are not ruling out a vote on the measure this spring.

Investor’s Business Daily: In 1970, children made up 33% of California’s population, a number that’s expected to shrink to just over a fifth by 2030, a report by the University of Southern California and the Lucile Packard Foundation shows. That year California averaged about 21 seniors per 100 working age adults. By 2030, that number is predicted to rise to 36% of working age adults . . . The state’s birthrate fell to 1.94 children per woman in 2010, below the replacement level of 2.1 children, according to the study, and lower than the overall U.S. rate of 2.06 children in 2012.

AP: A middle-school science teacher fired after students learned she had appeared in pornographic movies had hoped not just to get her job back, but to set a precedent for people looking to escape an embarrassing personal history.

Matthew J. Franck at National Review: Far be it from me to suggest that the Supreme Court look to foreign sources or opinions to guide its deliberations in the two cases now pending on same-sex marriage. But the shape of things in the current French debate over this issue is instructive indeed.

NPR (includes audio): One-fifth of Americans are religiously unaffiliated — higher than at any time in recent U.S. history — and those younger than 30 especially seem to be drifting from organized religion. A third of young Americans say they don’t belong to any religion. NPR Morning Edition co-host David Greene wanted to understand why, so he gathered a roundtable of young people . . .

USA Today: A movement in the South is sending same-sex couples in to offices to be married – even though they are not legally entitled to be wed.