Marriage movement makes waves in New Zealand

Carolyn Moynihan

The marriage movement is making itself felt in Australia and New Zealand with the publication of a report, 21 Reasons Why Marriage Matters, this week. A coalition of marriage and family advocacy groups is backing the report, which is based on local and international research showing the benefits of marriage over alternative arrangements for family life.

“This edition has 146 researched footnotes including NZ-based research and presents strong evidence that marriage is more than a private emotional relationship. It is a social good and we should develop policies, laws, and family and community interventions to help strengthen marriages. The weakening of marriage is one of the most important social issues we are facing in NZ,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

http://www.mercatornet.com/family_edge/view/marriage_movement_makes_waves_in_new_zealand/

Great sites for being Black and Married!

http://blackandmarriedwithkids.com/

http://www.happilyeverafterthemovie.com/

http://www.dailypress.com/news/opinion/dp-op_malonecolon_0830aug30,0,3101162.story

Why the black community can't talk about marriage
by Malone-Colon

Ask yourself: When is the last time you heard a public leader talk about the crisis in marriage and family and why it is urgent that as a country we give our attention to this crisis and its consequences? The answer is probably never or rarely.
What is being proposed by these leaders to address the dramatic increases in children born out of wedlock (72 percent for African-Americans), divorce, cohabitation, those who never marry and the decline in marital quality?

BREAKING NEWS: Obama comes down on DOMA

Jim Brown (OneNewsNow) and Associated Press -

A pro-family leader says the Obama administration is playing dishonest "Chicago-style politics" by defending the Defense of Marriage Act while undermining the law in a court filing.

The Obama Justice Department today filed court papers claiming the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act discriminates against homosexuals. In the meantime, the DOJ lawyers are seeking to dismiss a suit brought by a homosexual California couple challenging DOMA. (See Associated Press story below)

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=646972

British tax and benefit system favours single parents

Carolyn Moynihan

Does the British government actually not want some people to marry? It rather looks like it, judging by the financial penalty many couples face as a result of the tax they pay and the benefits they do not receive. In fact, it looks as though the government wants those who are married to split up.
An analysis of 98 couples with different earnings and numbers of children carried out by the charity Care showed that 76 of the couples would be better off if they split up and claimed welfare benefits that average £8007. Increasingly it is middle-income families where both parents work that suffer this “couple penalty”.

http://www.mercatornet.com/family_edge/view/british_tax_and_benefit_system_favours_single_parents/

ABA meddles in marriage issue, members exit

Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow -

The American Bar Association House of Delegates has approved a resolution calling on Congress to repeal a section of the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, that denies federal marital benefits and protections to same-gender couples married in states where it's legal.

OneNewsNow contacted Liberty Counsel's Mat Staver, dean of the law school at Liberty University, for reaction. He says the American Bar Association (ABA) is intruding on matters that have nothing to do with the general practice of law, pushing a political position that upsets many members.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=634228

Is White House coordinating attack on DOMA?

Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow -
Attorney Mat Staver is convinced the Obama administration is behind a federal lawsuit filed yesterday in Boston challenging the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

The first state to legalize homosexual "marriage" has filed suit against the federal government to overturn DOMA -- the Defense of Marriage Act -- which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. On Wednesday, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley filed the lawsuit in federal court in Boston. The suit claims DOMA interferes with the right of Massachusetts to define marriage as it sees fit.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=596486

Japan’s new craze: marriage hunting

Carolyn Moynihan
Japan’s population might be ageing and shrinking, but the Japanese are not short of an idea or two to tackle the trend. With marriages rates well below those of an older generation, today’s 20- to 40-somethings are fuelling a new fad known as “konkatsu” or “marriage hunting”, pursuing Mr or Mrs Right with the seriousness of nailing down a job.

http://www.mercatornet.com/family_edge/view/japans_new_craze_marriage_hunting/

Equal Parenting

Finding an equitable arrangement in divorce is important. Better still are parents who can stay together
By Stefan Paszlack, Researcher, Institute of Marriage and Family Canada
Last summer National Post columnist Barbara Kay asked this question: “When can divorced Canadian fathers – and their children – expect justice, so long demanded, so long promised and so long deferred?” [1] She’s not the only one. Equal parenting has been getting more and more attention, in particular when Dr. Edward Kruk released Child Custody, Access and Parental Responsibility: The search for a just and equitable standard in December 2008. Then on June 16, 2009, Maurice Vellacott , Member of Parliament for Saskatoon-Wanuskewin introduced Bill C-422. [2] It’s an equal parenting bill, which seeks to amend portions of the Divorce Act to change the legal presumption of sole custody in divorce disputes to one of joint custody.

http://www.imfcanada.org/article_files/eReview_July1_2009.pdf

Commentary: Let's end disposable marriage

By Leah Ward Sears

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- After Tommy's sudden death, we found among my brother's personal effects a questionnaire he had completed in 2005 for a church class.
The very first question was a fill-in-the-blank that went like this: "At the end of my life, I'd love to be able to look back and know I'd done something about ....."
"Fathers," Tommy wrote.
When asked to identify something that angered him that could be changed, Tommy wrote, "Re-establishment of equity and balance and sanity within the American family."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/07/02/sears.family.divorce/index.html?iref=hpmostpop

Losing Confidence in Marriage

By KAY S. HYMOWITZ
Is marriage in the midst of the social equivalent of the financial meltdown? The first inkling -- the Bear Stearns moment, if you will -- came almost a year ago when the National Enquirer reported that John Edwards appeared to be the father of a love child. The full-scale crisis hit in the past weeks with les affaires Ensign, Sanford and (at least according to rumor) reality-show star Jon Gosselin. Adding to the sense of a Great Marital Depression was a much discussed article in the Atlantic by performer and writer Sandra Tsing Loh about her own infidelity and ultimate separation from her husband, titled "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124658294270189935.html

A statement of courage after an affair

Jenny Sanford statement released earlier:I would like to start by saying I love my husband and I believe I have put forth every effort possible to be the best wife I can be during our almost twenty years of marriage. As well, for the last fifteen years my husband has been fully engaged in public service to the citizens and taxpayers of this state and I have faithfully supported him in those efforts to the best of my ability. I have been and remain proud of his accomplishments and his service to this state.I personally believe that the greatest legacy I will leave behind in this world is not the job I held on Wall Street, or the campaigns I managed for Mark, or the work I have done as First Lady or even the philanthropic activities in which I have been routinely engaged. Instead, the greatest legacy I will leave in this world is the character of the children I, or we, leave behind. It is for that reason that I deeply regret the recent actions of my husband Mark, and their potential damage to our children.I believe wholeheartedly in the sanctity, dignity and importance of the institution of marriage. I believe that has been consistently reflected in my actions. When I found out about my husband's infidelity I worked immediately to first seek reconciliation through forgiveness, and then to work diligently to repair our marriage. We reached a point where I felt it was important to look my sons in the eyes and maintain my dignity, self-respect, and my basic sense of right and wrong. I therefore asked my husband to leave two weeks ago.This trial separation was agreed to with the goal of ultimately strengthening our marriage. During this short separation it was agreed that Mark would not contact us. I kept this separation quiet out of respect of his public office and reputation, and in hopes of keeping our children from just this type of public exposure. Because of this separation, I did not know where he was in the past week.I believe enduring love is primarily a commitment and an act of will, and for a marriage to be successful, that commitment must be reciprocal. I believe Mark has earned a chance to resurrect our marriage.Psalm 127 states that sons are a gift from the Lord and children a reward from Him. I will continue to pour my energy into raising our sons to be honorable young men. I remain willing to forgive Mark completely for his indiscretions and to welcome him back, in time, if he continues to work toward reconciliation with a true spirit of humility and repentance.This is a very painful time for us and I would humbly request now that members of the media respect the privacy of my boys and me as we struggle together to continue on with our lives and as I seek the wisdom of Solomon, the strength and patience of Job and the grace of God in helping to heal my family.

More Than 10 Million Tune In for the Breakup of a Marriage

Lisa de Moraes

When "Jon & Kate Plus 8" announced Monday that Jon & Kate were splitting, it became cable's No. 1 unscripted series telecast. Ever.

[Note: Dr. Morse just made comments via podcast on this news and it will be going live soon.]

Here's a look at that historic development and last week's ratings ups and downs:
WINNERS
"Jon & Kate Plus 8." About 10.6 million of you tuned in to TLC on Monday night to watch Jon and Kate Gosselin announce they are splitting. Besides its No. 1 status among unscripted telecasts, it's also the second most watched cable series episode of any kind, ever -- behind only a "Hannah Montana" episode that immediately followed the premiere of "High School Musical 2" back in '07. I think it's safe to say those eight adorable children are going to continue leading their lives under the constant watch of TV cameras and paparazzi into their teens.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/23/AR2009062303419.html

Facebook and Divorce

By Belinda Luscombe

Not long after Patrick told his wife Tammie he wanted a divorce, she posted an angry, hurt note on "the wall," or public-comments section, of his Facebook page. Embarrassed that his colleagues, clients, church friends and family could see evidence of his marital woes, he deleted it and blocked his wife from seeing his page. A couple of days later, the IT worker in Florida--who asked that his last name not be used in this story — found alarmed messages from two Facebook friends in his inbox. Tammie had used a mutual friend's account to view Patrick's wall and e-mailed several women he had had exchanges with. He says her e-mails were borderline defamatory. She says they merely noted that he was married with children, a fact he had left off his Facebook profile. Either way: Ouch.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1904147,00.html

Same-Sex Marriage and the Death of Tradition

Carson Holloway

Conservatism emerged as a defense of tradition. Edmund Burke, universally acknowledged as the founder of modern conservatism, famously defended tradition as a source of social safety and stability, a bulwark against the corrosive effects of an unfettered rationalism. To be sure, neither Burke nor his later followers have defended a blind adherence to traditional social forms. As Burke noted, a state incapable of change is a state without the means of its own preservation. Tradition must often be altered and adapted to new circumstances. Nevertheless, for the conservative, if tradition is not always to be preserved, it is at least always to be given the benefit of the doubt. As the most eminent of American Burkeans, Russell Kirk, once said, "if it is not necessary to change, then it is necessary not to change.

http://www.firstthings.com/on_the_square_entry.php?year=2009&month=06&title_link=same-sex-marriage-and-the-deat

The Ruth Institute Merges with NOM

DR. JENNIFER ROBACK MORSE JOINS THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MARRIAGE’S NEXT GENERATION PROJECT

http://www.nationformarriage.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=omL2KeN0LzH&b=5075187&content_id=%7bB96A7300-B87A-488D-8A06-CDBA825161A6%7d&notoc=1

DOMA, Prop. 8 under legal attack in Calif.

Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow -

Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) has been granted permission to intervene in a federal marriage case in California. A same-gender pair has filed suit in federal court challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8, the California constitutional amendment protecting traditional marriage, alleging that passage of both violates the U.S. Constitution. The two men are asking the court to issue a broad injunction "mandating the use of gender-neutral terms in all legislation affection marriage."

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=533756

Wrong Marriage Debate

It is primarily about safety and security for children.

By Mona Charen

The other day I chatted with a pregnant gal at the hair salon. She was about 20, sweet, pretty, and demure. Because I am always doing sociological fieldwork, I asked my hairdresser if the girl was married. No. But she has a fiancé. As always in these situations, you just want to grab these young people by the lapels and say “Get to the altar! It’s critical for your child.” I didn’t of course — because, while I am a zealot for marriage, I’m not yet prepared to become a public nuisance.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZTM0MzI2NGFkOTFlNmM3YjgzZTM5Mzk1Njk3MWIxOTQ

Dr. J quoted in Washington Times

WETZSTEIN: Until death, or our term, do us part

Marriage has many peripheral issues, but its "essential and central purpose" is to provide a stable framework for a man and woman to attach themselves to each other and to the children they bear and raise, said Jennifer Roback Morse, who leads the Ruth Institute, an organization that promotes the traditional family structure.

A short-term renewable marriage contract "is a terrible idea" for children, said Mrs. Morse, who is an academic and author. "Let's say we bust up the partnership at the end of seven years. What happens to the little joint asset that you guys created?"


http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/may/05/until-death-or-term-do-us-part/

Breakup rules not accepted

Cheryl Wetzstein

Sometimes a cure can look worse than the problem. That seems to be the case with a massive legal guidebook on how to handle family breakups in our brave new world.

When the 1,187-page “Principles of the Law of Family Dissolution” was published by the prestigious American Law Institute in 2002, it was assumed that courts and lawmakers would snap it up. After all, it offered unprecedented guidance for vexing problems with child custody, support and property distribution among unmarried and same-sex couples.

But apparently, the institute's principles are too progressive for America's judges and lawmakers.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/31/breakup-rules-not-accepted/

Reflections on the State of Marriage in Contemporary Law

Stephen Baskerville

http://pbsusa.org/Mandate/Mandate_2009-05-06_WEB_pp13-16.pdf