President Picks Miers for Supreme Court Post
 As expected, President Bush announced his second nomination to the Supreme Court this week - White House Counsel Harriet Miers. Miers would replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who is retiring. Little is publicly known about Miers' judicial philosophy, but individuals close to her insist she fits the President's requirement as a strict constructionist who will not legislate from the bench.
Some conservatives have expressed concern regarding Miers' nomination, with many urging caution until more is known about her judicial philosophy. Focus on the Family Action Chairman, Dr. James Dobson, issued a statement welcoming the nomination saying, "President Bush pledged emphatically during his campaign to appoint judges who will interpret the law rather than create it...he also promised to select competent judges who will 'not use the bench to write social policy.' To this point, President Bush's appointments to the federal bench appear to have been remarkably consistent with that stated philosophy." FRC Action President Tony Perkins said that his organization had a "wait and see" attitude regarding the choice.
To read Focus on the Family's full statement, click here. For FRC's viewpoint, click here.
Detroit News Reports on Cohabitation
 The Detroit News published a feature article last week entitled "Shacking Up" regarding the increasing cohabitation rates across the nation. Michigan Family Forum Executive Director Brad Snavely was interviewed and quoted in the article, which profiled several couples in the Detroit area and their experiences with pre-marital cohabitation.
Snavely was quoted as saying, "The concern with the rising percentage of cohabiting couples is those choices will have some pretty dramatic public consequences. One of those consequences is that there is some strong evidence that those who live together before marriage are less likely to have a lasting marriage."
To read the article in its entirety, click here.
Marriage Amendment Under Fire
 Last week's edition of Forum Online profiled the ruling by Michigan Circuit Court judge Joyce Draganchuk that the state's marriage amendment did not prohibit state governments and other public institutions from offering same-sex domestic partnership benefits. Attorney General Mike Cox has said he will appeal the ruling. Meanwhile, Governor Jennifer Granholm has ordered the state Civil Service department to move forward with domestic partnership benefits for state employees.
Senator Alan Cropsey, who sponsored the original marriage amendment legislation, introduced a resolution in the Senate calling on the Supreme Court to "issue a temporary restraining order to prevent the spending of taxpayer monies to fund benefits for homosexual unions until the Court has ruled on the constitutionality of this issue." Cropsey and others believe it would be more prudent to await a final ruling before moving ahead with benefits.
This resolution passed the Senate earlier today. The Resolution now goes before the Michigan House. Click here to contact your House representative, and ask them to vote "yes" on Senate Concurrent Resolution 33." Click here to read the Resolution's language.
On a related note, Family News and Focus recently discussed how the push for same-sex partner benefits is part of a larger goal of undermining traditional marriage. To read the text of the broadcast, click here.
First "Trio" Marries in the Netherlands
From the Netherlands, where legalized drug use and same-sex marriage were "stunning firsts" for the globe, comes yet another shocking "first." A "trio" of individuals decided to get married, and under the country's liberal civil union laws, were able to legally bond themselves to each other, although officials there tried to emphasize it was not an actual "marriage."
"This is a perfect example of what can happen when a nation devalues marriage," said MFF Executive Director Brad Snavely. "The United States should see this as a wake-up call. Once marriage is redefined, there will be less rationale to defend against legal recognition of a variety of relationships, including polygamy. "
To read more about the Netherlands marriage "trio," click here.
Divorce and School Performance Linked
 According to research conducted by prominent social scientists, children whose parents remain married retain higher GPA's and have higher rates of school attendance than their counterparts from divorced families.
"Children from intact families...their GPA's tended to be well over 10-percent higher than those kids who were from divorced or remarried situations. Attendance numbers were even more dramatic," said researcher Dr. Barry Ham.
"Michigan Family Forum has long contended that kids are the biggest losers when it comes to divorce," said MFF Executive Director Brad Snavely. "That's why we continue to push for legislation that encourages pre-marital counseling and requires parents to work together on a plan for raising their children if there is a divorce. Unfortunately, the Governor vetoed these bills, along with others designed to promote healthy marriages and protect kids."
Polls have repeatedly indicated the public supports education and programs to help sustain marriage, prevent divorce, and protect kids when a divorce does happen. Click here to view a compilation of polling data collected by Michigan Family Forum during the past ten years. Click here for more information about the research study profiled above.
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