Marriage & Family Headlines

The Washington Post Ombudsman has posted this article describing some of his mail. The article includes the photo in question.

AP: "Governors and state education leaders are proposing a new set of standards to define what should be taught in the nation's public schools, The Washington Post reported Wednesday."

"The blame for America’s sagging academic achievement does not lie solely with public schools, Mr. Butt said, but also with dysfunctional families and a culture that undervalues education. 'Schools are inheriting an overentertained, distracted student,' he said."

NPR (includes audio): ". . . the Gill case is one of three in which state courts have overruled Florida law and approved gay adoptions."

"Congress never loses its ability to act on any question in the District . . . "

WAPT.com: "High school senior Constance McMillen knows the rule: no same-sex date at the senior prom. But the lesbian is challenging the Itawamba County School District policy, and has enlisted the help of the American Civil Liberties Union . . . "

Janic Shaw Crouse writes at Concerned Women for America: "Let’s begin with the basic argument that people are 'born gay.' Apparently, activists are operating under the assumption that if they say this long enough, people will believe it. Yet the science is not there to substantiate their oft-stated premise that homosexuality is genetic and is immutable . . . Let's look at five other myths associated with same-sex 'marriage.' . . . "

APP.com: "New Jersey polls over the past six years show that support for gay marriage has drifted between 41 and 50 percent. At the same time, opposition has hovered within a nearly identical 40 to 50 percent range."

The ACLU has issued this press release and FAQ About Marriage Recognition for Same-Sex Couples in Maryland.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput writing in the Denver Catholic Register: "The policies of our Catholic school system exist to protect all parties involved, including the children of homosexual couples and the couples themselves. Our schools are meant to be 'partners in faith' with parents. If parents don’t respect the beliefs of the Church, or live in a manner that openly rejects those beliefs, then partnering with those parents becomes very difficult, if not impossible. It also places unfair stress on the children, who find themselves caught in the middle, and on their teachers, who have an obligation to teach the authentic faith of the Church."

CNSNews: CNSNews.com asked Jennings 'about issues raised by congressional Republicans.' To that, Jennings responded, 'I’m not going to talk about that. Thank you . . . You can ask what you want, but I’m probably not going to answer it.' When asked if he thought the federal government should promote homosexual behavior as moral in public schools, Jennings stressed the limited authority of the Department of Education . . . "

FoxNews: "Dozens of same-sex couples made a historic walk down the aisle in Washington Tuesday as gay marriage became legal in the nation's capital."

FOX 9: "State house committee members are ready to debating three bills on gay marriage that would challenge the Minnesota’s Defense of Marriage Act, recognize civil unions, recognize legal marriages performed outside the state or legalize gay marriage in Minnesota."

This afternoon, 51 Members of the Iowa House voted to suspend the rules, and passed an amendment over the objection of Speaker Pat Murphy. This is the EXACT SAME procedure that was attempted on February 9th in an effort to pass the Iowa Marriage Amendment.

Recent Constitutional Questions in Taxation: Toward a Legislative Solution to Constitutional Problems of Same-Sex Couples and Ministers of the Gospel? John R. Dorocak, 19 Temp. Pol. & Civ. Rts. L. Rev. 223 (2009) "This Article reviews two different constitutional questions regarding federal income taxes. First, the constitutionality of the income tax exclusion of the housing allowance for ministers of the gospel under the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment is discussed. Second, constitutionality, under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of federal and state constitutions' denial of various tax benefits, such as joint filing for married couples is examined."

The Marriage Cases—Reversing the Burden of Inertia in a Pluralist Constitutional Democracy William N. Eskridge, 97 Cal. L. Rev. 1785 (2010) "This Foreword will examine the court's opinion and the many doctrinal issues it raises through the lens of California's pluralist-constitutional democracy. That voters can override the court through a constitutional amendment like Proposition 8 makes California's constitution self-evidently democratic-- indeed, more so than the U.S. Constitution. This feature has played a pivotal role in the state's politics of gay marriage. An equally important feature of the California Constitution is its commitment to pluralism: the idea that a key role of the State is to serve as a peaceful forum in which rival social and economic groups bargain, compete, and deliberate. An institutional challenge in a pluralist democracy is to keep rival groups engaged in politics, to direct their efforts toward the public good, and to avoid feuds and other mutually destructive conflicts. This challenge is especially difficult because the pluralist balance changes, often radically, over the course of a generation. New groups, clamoring for public recognition, will emerge, upsetting a balance of alliances that worked well only ten years prior. Few groups reflect this phenomenon better than sexual and gender minorities; reviled as outlaws two generations ago, they are now part of the political process in California. Given the state's role as harbinger for the nation, this is a significant advance for these minorities."

Union Leader: "Voters will weigh in on same-sex marriage and local spending at polls or town meetings across the state tomorrow."

Washington Post: "Education Secretary Arne Duncan plans to announce Monday that his agency is ramping up enforcement of civil rights laws in schools and colleges, a move that seeks to draw a contrast with the policies of his Republican predecessors."

Rob Vischer has this post at the Mirror of Justice Blog: "Thanks to Fr. Araujo (and others) for responding to my post asking how the extension of benefits to same-sex spouses legitimizes same-sex marriage."

Ignatius Insight has posted the article by Notre Dame Constitutional Law Professor Charles Rice which was refused for publication in the Notre Dame Observer. The exchange between Prof. Rice and the Editor of the Observer is published here.