Friends of the Family,
With Valentine’s Day less than a week away, it would be nice if the media would cover a new report that finds 162 reasons to get married. But instead they are fixated on the issue of redefining marriage, particularly when it comes to same-sex “marriage” and Proposition 8 in California.
First, the good news. As part of the celebration of National Marriage Week (Feb. 7-14), Family Research Council’s Marriage and Religion Institute has released a new paper entitled “162 Reasons to Marry.” This new study demonstrates that marriage is beneficial across a wide range of personal outcomes, including family, religion, education, finances, crime and health.
“162 Reasons to Marry” shows that married persons:
• Enjoy stronger relationships with their children;
• Worship more regularly;
• Participate more actively in their children’s education;
• Work more productively;
• Enjoy greater financial stability;
• Have better mental and physical health; and
• Are less likely to commit crime or abuse or to be victims of domestic violence.
Furthermore, those raised in intact married families are more likely to practice sexual chastity, to worship more regularly, to expect and attain more educationally, and to exhibit better physical and mental health. They are also less likely to experience poverty as children, or to experience or commit violence.
As my friend Dr. Patrick Fagan has said, “Marriage is the foundational relationship for all of society…all other relationships in society stem from the father-mother relationship.”
However, as if purposefully timed this way, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that Proposition 8 in California is unconstitutional. That’s right, the first day of National Marriage Week, a notoriously activist court has ruled that the people of California don’t have the right to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
I was on New England Cable News this morning talking about this court ruling, and the right of the people to vote on marriage. MassEquality Director Kara Suffredini who spoke in favor of the court ruling and same-sex “marriage” joined me in studio. You can watch our brief discussion below:
Our opponents believe that they have time and history on their side, but the fact remains that the people always reject same-sex “marriage” when it is put before them on the ballot. Thirty-one of 31 states have voted on marriage being only the union of one man and one woman with an average pass rate of 63 percent, a mandate in any election. The few states that currently sanction same-sex “marriage” do so because either courts or legislators made it law, never giving the people the chance to say no.
As you celebrate your spouse and your relationship, be sure to say a prayer for marriage. Pray that natural, heterosexual marriage continues to be strengthened, that more and more people see the benefits of marriage. Pray that couples having difficulty can find the support to get on back on track, and that our opponents will fail in their efforts to destroy marriage.
For our families and our marriages,
Kris
