Lawsuit Aims to Invalidate Michigan's Marriage
Amendment
 A
lesbian couple in western Michigan has filed a lawsuit in federal
court challenging Proposal 2, Michigan's Marriage Amendment. The
suit was filed in the wake of a ruling by Attorney General Mike
Cox saying the state's amendment, supported by nearly 60-percent
of voters, prevents government entities from providing benefits
to same-sex couples in an attempt to simulate marriage. The suit
claims the amendment violates equal protection rights in the U.S.
Constitution.
"While we expect that the will of the people
will be upheld, this once again shows the need for a Federal Marriage
Amendment," said MFF Executive Director Brad Snavely. "The
people of this country know exactly what marriage is - the union
of a man and a woman, and the only way to ultimately protect that
definition is to pass a federal amendment."
This week's lawsuit joins a similar suit filed
in state court by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) earlier
this year. A federal judge in Nebraska recently turned down that
state's marriage amendment. For more on the Michigan lawsuit,
click
here.
New Report Identifies Troubling
Trends in Family Law
 The
Institute for American Values has released a new report entitled,
"The Future of Family Law: Law and the Marriage Crisis in
North America." The report discusses four troubling trends
in family law in the United States and Canada - Equivalence Between
Cohabitation and Marriage; Redefining Marriage as a Couple-Centered
Bond; Disestablishment, or the Separation of Marriage and State;
and Why Just Two?
"Each of these trends is disturbing in its
own right," said MFF Executive Director Brad Snavely. "Taken
together, they show that the institution of marriage is in deep
trouble. This excellent report helps explain why marriage has
lost much of its cultural influence and what can be done to turn
things around."
To find out more about this report, including how
to obtain a copy, click
here.
Abstinence Funding Up for
Debate
 The
U.S. House Appropriations Committee is expected to take up debate
tomorrow on a bill that includes funding for abstinence education
programs. President Bush had requested $39 million in additional
funds for abstinence programs, but the sub-committee that handled
the bill is recommending only $11 million additional. In the mean
time, an amendment is expected that could potentially reduce abstinence
education funding by $95 million.
The Appropriations Committee members need to hear
from their constituents who support abstinence education programs.
Two members of Congress from Michigan serve on the committee.
For more information about the bill and information on how to
contact members of the committee, click
here.
Fatherhood Fact
 "24
million children (34 percent) live absent their biological father.
Children who live absent their biological fathers are, on average,
at least two to three times more likely to be poor, to use drugs,
to experience educational, health, emotional and behavioral problems,
to be victims of child abuse, and to engage in criminal behavior
than their peers who live with their married, biological (or adoptive)
parents."
(Source: "Top Ten Father Facts," Father
Facts, Fourth Edition, National Fatherhood Initiative; http://www.fatherhood.org/fatherfacts_t10.asp
.)
For more information on how to promote fatherhood
in your community, click
here.
Federal Government Releases
New Report on Healthy Marriage Initiative
 HHS
Assistant Secretary for Children and Families Wade F. Horn, Ph.D.,
recently announced the release of a new report on President Bush’s
Healthy Marriage Initiative.
“This report takes stock of the progress we have made with
the President’s healthy marriage initiative,” said
Dr. Horn. “By helping couples form and sustain a healthy
marriage, we help improve the well-being of children, families
and communities.”
The report, entitled “Healthy Marriage Initiative: Activities
and Accomplishments 2002-2004,” provides an overview of
healthy marriage demonstration projects and grant activities,
the African American and Hispanic healthy marriage initiatives,
healthy marriage research and other resources funded by ACF through
2004.
To download a copy of the report, click
here.
New Jersey Court Upholds
Marriage
 The
Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court in a strongly
worded 2-1 decision, upheld a lower court decision that said it
is not unconstitutional to define marriage as the union of one
man and one woman. The decision came in a case originally filed
by seven same-sex couples who applied for, but were denied marriage
licenses.
The judges said the homosexual activists failed to prove their
claim that the denials violated their rights of privacy and equal
protection under the New Jersey Constitution. Dale Schowengerdt,
an Alliance Defense Fund attorney who authored a friend-of-the-court
brief on behalf of the Family Research Council said "The
court acknowledged what is undeniable - that marriage between
members of the same sex has no foundation in our history or tradition.
Same-sex couples do not have a right to marriage under the New
Jersey Constitution." For more on this story, click
here.
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