Tag Archives: Category: Marriage and Family

Delaware Online: A Glasgow church faced what it described as a “disturbance” after a sign out front implying religion trumps gay marriage caused a stir on social media.

HSLDA: The military has new policies for homeschool graduates who seek to enlist. These are simply to determine if your child was actually homeschooled and not for any other reason. We are very pleased that the new law is leading to good policies for homeschool enlistment across the services.

Alan Sears at Townhall: The Play’s the Thing
Whatever you do, be cool,” the kids tell themselves, and each other—just as we told ourselves, and our peers, at that age. You can’t be cool if you stand out from the crowd. Rule No. 1 for being cool is: blend in. Makes it hard to teach showmanship. Or courage, for that matter.

NBC: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has given tacit approval to the Boy Scouts’ proposal to allow gay youth to join, saying they “appreciate the positive things” included in the plan to end the organization’s controversial ban on gay boys.

PolicyMic: Opponents to Delaware’s bill cite concerns over religious liberties — worried that business owners who refuse marriage-related services for gay and lesbian couples could be hit with discrimination charges. “If there’s an exemption for right of conscience,” said Jordan Lorence, attorney of the conservative religious liberties group Alliance Defending Freedom, “I don’t see it.”

David Lapp at Family Scholars: In “Promises I Can Keep,” Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas find that among the poor single mothers they interviewed, “Nearly everyone has a morality tale to tell of two fools who rushed into marriage only to divorce.” And, “The harshest condemnation is reserved for those who marry because of pregnancy. Such marriages, they believe, are almost certain to end in divorce, and thus benefit neither the couple nor the child.”

EagNews.org: Leaders of a deeply troubled Pennsylvania school district are considering a plan to convert all of its individual schools into charters beginning next fall – an immediate and sweeping change that’s never been attempted before in American K-12 history.

Washington Post: A gay couple married under state law cannot give a joint contribution to a federal candidate if they make it from an individual banking account, the Federal Election Commission voted unanimously Thursday.

Boston Globe (AP): Phone banks, an army of volunteers and alliances with organized labor, business leaders and religious clergy propelled gay marriage to victory in Rhode Island this week, a savvy and coordinated strategy that relied on growing public support and old-fashioned bare-knuckle politics.

WorldNetDaily: Outraged parents say a New York middle school instructed young female students to ask one another for a lesbian kiss – and boys learned how to spot young sluts – in an anti-bullying presentation on gender identity and sexual orientation, according to Fox News’ Todd Starnes.

York Dispatch: That was Sierra Stambaugh’s realization growing up in Red Lion Area School District. About three years ago, she came to another realization, one that explained the nagging feeling. “It was that I identified as a male,” Sierra said of being transgender.Sierra cut her hair short, and her mom bought her men’s pants. She changed her name to Issak Wolfe and has used it ever since, with full parental support.

MPR: The former deputy chief of staff to Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty says he supports legal same-sex marriage. Brian McClung, who now runs a PR firm, said support for same-sex marriage aligns with Republican values.

The latest issue of Faith & Just is online here.

ABQ Journal (includes video): . . . an overflowing crowd of a couple hundred people, the Santa Fe City Council on Wednesday approved a controversial and largely symbolic resolution recognizing gay marriage as legal in New Mexico and urging county clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Washington Times: He’s referring to what You Can Play Project co-founder Patrick Burke calls “casual homophobia,” the kind of language he hopes to get rid of as part of an initiative with the NHL and NHL Players’ Association.

Byron Babione on the Zeb Bell Show. | MP3 audio 15:10 mins | Hollingsworth v. Perry resource page

Water Mark Online: “If there’s an exemption for right of conscience, I don’t see it,” said Jordan Lorence an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative religious liberties group.

John G. Crandall at Public Discourse: Proposition 8 does not, contrary to Judge Vaughan Walker’s claims, treat equals unequally.

The Christian Civic League has posted this article by John Stemberg that outlines the situation.

AlbertMohler.com: The key question we now face is this: Does recognition of civil rights for all people require the normalization of homosexuality and the legalization of same-sex marriage?

Providence Journal: The state Senate voted 26 to 12 Wednesday to allow same-sex couples to marry in Rhode Island as early as August 1.

AP: Frustrated at being left out of an immigration overhaul, gay rights groups are pushing to adjust a bipartisan Senate bill to include gay couples.

Mary Eberstadt’s new book is now available on Amazon.

Washington Times: “This is no compromise; it is capitulation, plain and simple,” said David Cortman, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, which supports the BSA’s current membership policy that bans “open or avowed homosexuals” from Scouting.

WGMD 92.7: Testimony went on for just under 2 hours in the state House from witnesses on both sides of the marriage equality issue. There was testimony from Jordan Lawrence, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom and Mark Pupura, of Equality Delaware and Nicole Theis of the Delaware Family Policy Council.

Delaware Online: The minority’s featured witness was Jordan Lorence, an attorney with the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom, formerly the Alliance Defense Fund. Language in the bill to protect churches and clergy from being compelled to solemnify marriages they oppose is not adequate, he said. “It’s the business owners that deal with weddings. It’s licensed professionals having their licenses threatened because they believe the wrong things about marriage,” Lorence said, citing discrimination cases in other states where businesses have been sued for denying services to same-sex couples. “Those are the places where we are having religious liberty conflicts around the country,” he added.

Beaumont Enterprise (AP): “If there’s an exemption for right of conscience, I don’t see it,” said Jordan Lorence an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative religious liberties group.

NBC News: “If there’s an exemption for right of conscience, I don’t see it,” said Jordan Lorence an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative religious liberties group.

David Bohon at the New American: Referring to the BSA’s century-plus tradition of moral excellence, David Cortman of Alliance Defending Freedom warned that the proposal represented “the beginning of a sea change, as those promoting this agenda won’t rest until there is complete acceptance of any sexual preference for both leaders and members.” Cortman counseled the Boy Scouts to recall “that the Constitution protects — and the Supreme Court has affirmed — their freedom to promote and practice the values that have served to shape our nation’s boys into leaders for well over 100 years.”

ACLU: The Idaho Transportation Department has amended its policy regarding changes to driver’s licenses to allow transgender individuals to correct the gender markers on their licenses without showing proof they have undergone surgery.

National Review Bench Memos: Washington governor Jay Inslee yesterday signed into law the last piece of a multi-year effort to rewrite state statutes in something that resembles Orwell’s Newspeak. Reuters notes that 3,500 state code sections have now been “tediously scrubbed” of gender bias . . .

CNSNews: The federal government is spending $152,000 to study “voice therapy” for transgenders, saying it is incumbent to being “accepted as one’s preferred gender.”

James Taranto at Wall Street Journal: It’s one of the basic contradictions of contemporary feminism: On the one hand, it’s supposed to be about choice for women; on the other hand, some choices are more equal than others–and certain ones, such as marrying young, provoke extreme hostility, as the Patton kerfuffle demonstrated.

NewsObserver: North Carolina’s 115 public school systems would lose the right to take their local board of county commissioners to court for more funding under a bill filed in the state Senate.

Anthony Esolen at Public Discourse: The Boy Scouts are en route to holding that there is nothing to being a boy, and nothing to the boy’s becoming a man; they might as well be the Unisex Scouts, as they are in Canada, where the scouting movement has collapsed.

Philly.com: A BILL SPONSORED by City Councilman Jim Kenney at the behest of the LGBT community would require newly constructed or renovated city-owned buildings to have gender-neutral bathrooms in addition to men’s and women’s rooms.

Orlando Sentinel: Since November, Bayli Silberstein, an openly bisexual 14-year-old, has lobbied for a Gay-Straight Alliance at Carver Middle School in Leesburg but has been thwarted by school officials.

Boston Globe: The Rhode Island Senate is poised to hold a landmark vote Wednesday on gay marriage legislation, the culmination of years of efforts by supporters who want to see the state join the rest of New England in allowing gays and lesbians to wed.

Las Vegas Sun: Following more than an hour of riveting and personal floor speeches — during which one state senator publicly announced for the first time he is gay — the Nevada Senate voted 12-9 to begin the process of repealing the gay marriage ban from the state constitution. Only one Republican, Sen. Ben Kieckhefer, joined with Democrats to vote in favor of Senate Joint Resolution 13 . . .

John Stemberger at Wash. Times: Virtually every news story on this topic erroneously frames this issue as the Boy Scouts “bans gays” or “discriminates against gays.” This is simply not true. Contrary to what the media might report, the Boy Scouts do not discriminate against homosexuals. The BSA membership application does not even ask about sexual orientation.

Nicole Theis of DE Family Policy Council at Delaware Online: Marriage is based on the truth that men and women are complementary, the fact that reproduction depends on a man and a woman, and the reality that children need a mother and a father. Redefining marriage rejects these truths. This is the position many of us hold, including the Delaware Family Policy Council. But this week, an advocate for same-sex marriage accused us of being a “hate” group and called for an investigation simply for believing in the definition of marriage that predates government and is true across cultures, faiths and time.

AP: The five Republicans in the Rhode Island Senate are backing gay marriage as a legislative committee prepares for a pivotal vote on the issue.

Joseph Backholm of Family Policy Institute of WA at Citizen Link: Those amendments were rejected. In refusing to provide those legal protections, the legislature expressed their desire for precisely this kind of result; small businesses like Arlene’s Flowers will be faced with lawsuits because of who they are and what they believe. Every state legislator who voted against the amendments to protect religious freedom and in support of the same-sex “marriage” bill is complicit as well.

Washington Post: It’s often said you can’t please all of the people all of the time. But in announcing a proposal to lift the ban on gay scouts but not gay leaders, the Boy Scouts have managed to please no one at all.

Going against its longstanding membership policy, the Boy Scouts of America Executive Committee has now decided to push forward a resolution allowing members to be of any “sexual orientation or preference.” This is only the beginning of a sea change, as those promoting this agenda won’t rest until there is complete acceptance of any sexual preference for both leaders and members. This is no compromise; it is capitulation, plain and simpl

Ed Whelan at NRO: Unfortunately, the proposed resolution gives ample signs of being ill-considered and unsustainable. Some observations . . .

CBS: The Nevada State Senate is scheduled to vote today on a resolution that allows gay marriage in Nevada. SJR13 . . .

MyDesert.com: A lesbian couple facing immigration troubles has the standing to challenge the federal Defense of Marriage Act because it violates the constitutional rights of immigrants in same-sex marriages, a federal judge has ruled. | Aranas v. Napalitono, Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Motions to Dismiss | Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law Case Information Page

MPR: Roback Morse founded the California-based Ruth Institute, which promotes marriage to college students. Many Minnesotans voted against amending the Constitution in November, Roback Morse said, because they thought there was no threat to traditional marriage. She believes those voters were surprised to have state legislators propose same-sex marriage legislation so soon.

Providence Journal: The Providence Chamber of Commerce’s board chairman and two other business leaders said Monday legalizing same-sex marriage would remove one hurdle that makes it hard for R.I. businesses to compete.

Emma Margolin at MSNBC: In a controversial resolution released on Friday, the group proposed lifting its ban on gay scouts–a significant shift in policy for one of the nation’s largest and most prominent youth development institutions–while still maintaining its current position excluding gay adults as potential leaders. If approved, the policy would take effect on Jan. 1, 2014.

Business Insider: These trends create an even higher demand for education among women. Education is insurance against divorce risk, but it also creates more unstable marriages, which in turn increases demand for more education. And since the marriage market is filled with more educated women, it’s more difficult for uneducated women to find a mate — making the marriage market more competitive.

Os Hillman at Christian Post: The battle for the family is heating up with one of the most important issues that could cause a huge tipping point in culture-the redefining of marriage by the Supreme Court. This is part 3 of a 4 part series on the topic of gay marriage. In this segment we look at how the failure of Christian marriages and how it has contributed to the issue of the rising gay community and the agenda of the gay community.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/is-gay-marriage-a-moral-issue-or-a-civil-liberties-issue-pt-3-94431/#sfwrzD6dg26Almep.99

Ken Klukowski at Breitbart: A faction in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) just proposed a resolution to change BSA’s longstanding policy regarding openly homosexual behavior, one that will subject them to crippling lawsuits and cannot possibly survive over time. Regardless of where a person stands on the question of whether there should be open and avowed homosexuals in the Boy Scouts, this policy doesn’t make sense either way.

Topeka Capitol-Journal: The U.S. Supreme Court five years ago sided with the Kansas high court that Topekan Daryl Hendrix couldn’t be a part of the lives of two children conceived by artificial insemination using his sperm.

Hawaii Free Press: Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Joseph La Rue speaks out regarding Hawaii Senate Bill 535 SD1 HD2, a proposed law that would make it illegal for any Hawaii family to fire or otherwise change the employment status of many incompatible nannies, babysitters, caretakers, and other domestic workers . . . The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom allied attorney James Hochberg . . .

The Hill: Forty-one percent of Republicans polled said they think less favorably of Portman following his shift, and the percentage of respondents reporting an unfavorable view of the senator saw a sharp increase in the new poll, up to 21 percent from 8 percent in late February. His approval among Republicans has dropped six percentage points since the last poll.

Columbus Dispatch: The firing of a gay physical-education teacher from a Columbus Catholic high school would be a violation of a city ordinance if a complaint were filed and investigators determined the dismissal was based on her sexual orientation.

WorldNetDaily: Swedish parents Annie and Christer Johansson have launched what may be their last hope to see their son again – with an appeal to the Supreme Court of Sweden to overturn a lower court’s decision to end their parental rights over homeschooling . . . he HSLDA has been working on Domenic’s case, along with officials from the Alliance Defending Freedom.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/04/homeschool-parents-have-1-shot-to-see-son-again/#vPLSHHFWFSdLzt1K.99

NCPA Policy Digest: In states where online education has been implemented, local and state teachers unions have challenged virtual education in court by seeking to limit enrollment in the charter schools that utilize the technology, by pushing for virtual schools to be closed and by seeking to limit enrollment to students who live “in district,” despite that defeating the benefits of the Internet.

Deseret News: Now think about that for a minute. This is the most famous newspaper in the world, the New York Times, in its popular and highly read Style section, not condemning Partilla and Riddell for deserting their families and children but featuring them positively because, instead of “denying their feelings and living dishonestly,” they had the courage to be “brave enough to hold hands and jump.”

Peter Sprigg at LifeSiteNews: In a country where 41 out of 50 states still define marriage as the union of a man and a woman, and voters in a majority, 30 have placed that definition in their state constitutions; it can only be wishful thinking for the advocates of marriage redefinition to claim that it is imminent or inevitable. I suspect that some in the mainstream media are hoping that their prophecy will be a self-fulfilling one.

Non-discrimination doesn’t mean anything goes. Being responsible enough to employ someone you trust to watch your baby or bathe your grandmother is not engaging in unlawful discrimination, and the Hawaii Legislature should know better.

Newsmax: Gay marriage will be highlighted in Virginia this year during the state’s gubernatorial campaign, which features candidates in decidedly opposite camps on the issue. In fact, the race will feature the first Democratic candidate for governor in southern political history who endorses same-sex marriage, according to Politico.

Rod Dreher at The American Conservative: It seems that when people decide that historically normative Christianity is wrong about sex, they typically don’t find a church that endorses their liberal views. They quit going to church altogether. This raises a critically important question: is sex the linchpin of Christian cultural order? Is it really the case that to cast off Christian teaching on sex and sexuality is to remove the factor that gives—or gave—Christianity its power as a social force? . . . Our post-Christian culture, then, is an “anti-culture.” We are compelled by the logic of modernity and the myth of individual freedom to continue tearing away the last vestiges of the old order, convinced that true happiness and harmony will be ours once all limits have been nullified.

Robert J. Samuelson at Washington Post: It’s hard to overstate the breakdown of marriage and the rise of single-parent families. Consider out-of-wedlock births. In 1980, about 18 percent of births were to unmarried women; by 2009, the proportion was 41 percent. Among whites, the increase was from 11 percent to 36 percent; among African Americans, from 56 percent to 72 percent; among Hispanics, from 37 percent (1990) to 53 percent. Or look at the share of children living with two parents. Since 1970, that’s dropped from 82 percent to 63 percent. Among whites, the decline is from 87 percent to 73 percent; among African Americans, from 57 percent to 31 percent; among Hispanics, from 78 percent to 57 percent. Just what caused these changes remains controversial.

WorldNetDaily: Ties to a corporate world that has largely accommodated the gay-rights agenda have brought the Scouts to the point of voting on whether they should abandon their century-old policy of forbidding members who openly declare they are homosexual, argues Randy Sharp, director of special projects for the American Family Association. Sharp’s group is mobilizing supporters to urge Boy Scouts executive board member Randall Stephenson, the CEO of AT&T, to resign.

Washington Post: Forty-one percent of self-identified Republicans in the state say they view Portman less favorably because of his shift. Overall, 20 percent say it reflects poorly on Portman, 25 percent say it reflects positively, and 53 percent are indifferent.

Chicago Phoenix: An Illinois House committee voted to approve a resolution Wednesday that would symbolically recognize the National Day of Silence, an event in which students across the country abstain from speaking to draw attention to the issue of anti-LGBT bullying.

National Review: I just learned that today is the national Day of Silence, sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). Angela Batista, dean of students at the University of Southern Indiana, explained in an e-mail to the university’s faculty and staff . . .

Houston Chronicle (AP): The Senate Criminal Justice Committee voted on Wednesday to repeal the state’s anti-gay sodomy law, a decade after the U.S. Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional.

Idaho State Journal: Mayor Brian Blad cast the deciding vote Thursday night to defeat a proposed new ordinance designed to protect the LGBT community from discrimination when it comes to housing, employment or public accommodations.

Washington Post: Under the proposal, no new civil unions would be performed after July 1, and couples in civil unions could convert to marriages before July 2014 by applying for a marriage license. On July 1, 2014, all remaining civil unions not subject to dissolution, annulment or legal separation would automatically convert to marriages.

Ken Klukowski at Breitbart: As a lawyer in the same-sex marriage litigation at the Supreme Court who has spent a couple years working through all the implications of declaring a constitutional right to gay marriage, it became clear that such a declaration would also mean there is a right to polygamy.

The Proposed Resolution is here.