Senate Confirms John Roberts
 The U.S. Senate voted 78-22 today to confirm Judge John Roberts as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Fifty-five Republicans and twenty-three Democrats voted to confirm President Bush's nominee. Michigan's two Senators, both Democrats, were split - with Sen. Debbie Stabenow voting against confirmation, and Sen. Carl Levin voting for it.
"In voting against Judge Roberts, Sen. Stabenow has aligned herself with the liberal wing of the Democratic party," said MFF Executive Director Brad Snavely. "Senator Levin chose to vote based on the judge's impeccable qualifications, not the views of politically motivated liberal interest groups."
To read more about Judge Roberts' confirmation, click here. To contact Senators Stabenow and Levin, click here.
Judge Overturns Proposal 2 Opinion
 State circuit court judge Joyce Draganchuk issued her ruling this week in a case seeking to overturn the Attorney General's opinion regarding same-sex domestic partnership benefits. The ACLU filed the case on behalf of 21 city of Kalamazoo employees who lost their domestic partnership benefits when the Attorney General ruled that Michigan's Marriage Amendment outlawed them.
Draganchuk's written decision stated that she based her ruling on the belief that "voters never intended to take away benefits" when they approved Proposal 2 and that "health benefits are a benefit of employment, not marriage." Michigan Family Forum issued a statement to the media arguing that "domestic partnerships are clearly an effort to create relationships similar to marriage" and that "any effort by the state of Michigan or the use of state tax dollars to grant benefits to individuals based on a marriage-like relationship is a violation of the Michigan Constitution and contrary to the intent of voters." Judge Draganchuk's decision will likely be appealed.
To read MFF's full statement, click here. To read more about Judge Draganchuk's decision, click here.
ACLU Targets Abstinence
 The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has launched a campaign aimed at "combating dangerous abstinence-only-until-marriage curricula in the United States." The campaign, known as "Not in My State" will be a coordinated effort between the national ACLU organization and its state affiliates. Michigan is one of eighteen states specifically targeted.
The ACLU claims it has launched the campaign because "for too long the federal government has funded abstinence-only-until-marriage curricula that is based on ideology and religion rather than science." The campaign is beginning with a letter-writing effort encouraging people to write their local officials asking them to "carefully scrutinize" health and life-science curricula."
"Unfortunately for the ACLU, there is plenty of scientific evidence to back up the fact that abstinence education is effective," said MFF Executive Director Brad Snavely. "In fact, Michigan's lawmakers and the Governor felt strongly enough about it to pass and sign legislation requiring abstinence to be taught in our schools. It's common sense - waiting until marriage protects kids from a host of potential physical and emotional problems. It is still the only 100-percent effective way to prevent teen pregnancies and the spread of STDs."
To read the ACLU's press release on its website, click here. To read Focus on the Family's response, click here.
Can Married Parents Reduce Crime?
 Marriage expert Maggie Gallagher, President of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, has released a new report entitled "Can Married Parents Reduce Crime?" The 10-page report studies the correlation between family fragmentation and crime and delinquency.
The new report details the findings of an analysis of 23 peer-reviewed studies published in U.S. Journals between 2000 and 2005. All but three of the studies found that family structure affects crime or delinquency.
To read "Can Married Parents Reduce Crime," click here. For more information about the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, click here.
Divorce's Lasting Effects
 Even though adult children of divorce often appear well-adjusted and successful, their childhoods were profoundly scarred by their parents' breakup, a study finds.
The "untold story" of divorce is that it forces children into a strange new childhood that is filled with stress, secrets and fears about safety, says Elizabeth Marquardt, author of "Between Two Worlds: The Inner Lives of Children of Divorce." Marqhardt is an affiliate scholar and expert on divorce from the Institute for American Values.
Michigan Family Forum agrees with Marquardt and other researchers who have studied the lasting impact of divorce on children. MFF helped author legislation that would require divorcing parents to develop a "parenting plan" to help alleviate some of the effects of divorce on their children. Governor Granholm vetoed this legislation in 2004.
To read more about Elizabeth Marquardt's latest publication, click here. To read MFF's publication "What Every Child Needs: The Unique Contributions of Fathers and Mothers," click here.
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