Family and Marriage News
Coverage of family life, marriage, parenting, and cultural issues shaping households across America, with clear reporting and thoughtful analysis.
-
- Opinion
When Clinton, Biden, and Schumer Defended Marriage Against Ted Kennedy
When Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts led the fight in 1996 to stop a federal law that would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman, he faced some prominent opponents in his own party. They included then-Rep. Chuck Schumer of New York, then-Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, and then-President Bill…Terence Jeffrey -
- News
Conservative Leaders Urge GOP Senators to Reject House-Passed Same-Sex Marriage Bill
Conservative leaders are calling on senators to reject the House-passed Respect for Marriage Act, which aims to codify into federal law the Supreme Court’s 2015 legalization of same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges. “The Act, which was suddenly rushed through the House without any public hearings or input, is an attack on millions of Americans, particularly…Gillian Richards -
- Opinion
4 Compelling Reasons for the Senate to Oppose Redefining Marriage
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Respect for Marriage Act, legislation that would repeal the overwhelmingly bipartisan Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 and codify the U.S. Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges into federal law. Forty-seven House Republicans joined a unanimous Democratic caucus in voting for the bill, leading to speculation…David Closson -
- News
31 States Where Voters Defined Marriage as Union of 1 Man, 1 Woman
The Supreme Court’s decision legalizing same-sex marriage across the nation is in the news again with the House’s passage last week of legislation codifying that 2015 ruling as part of U.S. law. In the years before the high court ruled in the case known as Obergefell v. Hodges, 38 states defined marriage by law as an exclusive union between…Gillian Richards -
- Opinion
Polygamy Seen as Possibility Under House-Passed Marriage Bill
House Democrats, with the assistance of 47 Republicans, last week passed legislation under which the federal government would recognize any marriage if it is legally performed in any of the 50 states. The bill also would allow the nation’s attorney general to file civil action lawsuits against states that refuse to recognize marriages in other…Douglas Blair -
- Opinion
Defending Marriage Is ‘Social Justice for Children’
As the U.S. Senate debates the “Respect for Marriage” Act, a social scientist said politicians must understand that preserving the time-honored definition of marriage is necessary to establish “social justice for children.” The House of Representatives passed the misnamed bill, which would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and define marriage as any union “valid in the…Ben Johnson -
- Opinion
Republicans Used to Defend Traditional Marriage. What’s Changed?
When the Supreme Court delivered its blow to marriage in 2015, burning down three dozen state laws and tearing up 50 million ballots, the GOP’s reaction was straightforward. Outrage. With a handful of exceptions, the response that echoed across the two coasts was a collective “How dare they?” As far as Republicans were concerned, what the five…Tony Perkins -
- Opinion
House-Passed ‘Respect for Marriage Act’ Isn’t About Marriage. It’s About Complying With Woke Ideology.
In an alarmist overreaction to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, congressional liberals this week passed radical legislation mislabeled as the Respect for Marriage Act. Although the bill’s final passage would threaten civil society and fundamental American freedoms, conservatives should see this development for what it really is: a publicity stunt. Its goal? Take the…Jared Eckert -
- News
Here Are the 47 House Republicans Who Voted to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage
Forty-seven House Republicans voted Tuesday in support of a Democrat-backed bill to codify same-sex marriage into federal law. The bill, dubbed the Respect for Marriage Act, passed the House of Representatives 267 to 157. All 220 Democrats voted in favor. Seven Republicans abstained. The Respect for Marriage Act would formally repeal the 1996 Defense of…Gillian Richards -
- Opinion
The Truth Hasn’t Changed. The GOP Must Defend Marriage.
If you asked the talking heads, they’d say Americans are flocking to the Republican Party because of Joe Biden. It’s a reasonable explanation, considering the dumpster fire he’s made of our economy, energy, and inflation. But there’s another reason that voters are turning to the GOP—and it has nothing to do with the price of…Tony Perkins -
- Opinion
Fathers: The Family Component Missing From Mass Shooters’ Lives
Senate Democrats considered gun control legislation last week in response to the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, but Republicans questioned whether such a response would actually address the real problem. “Why is our culture suddenly producing so many young men who want to murder innocent people?” asked Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. “Could things like fatherlessness, the…Joshua Arnold -
- Opinion
Want a Pro-Life America? Look to Family and Church, Advocate Says
If Roe v. Wade in fact is overturned, ending abortion on demand, what happens next? Is the pro-life movement ready to meet the needs of mothers and families facing unplanned pregnancies? Roland Warren, president and CEO of the pro-life organization Care Net, says that although pregnancy centers play a role in helping women who have…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
Jobs, Family, Loyalty: Identifying the Governing Vision of National Conservatives
The American conservative movement long has been a raucous conversation among groups with different purposes, objects, and frameworks in which they approach politics and culture. Now, the strain known as national conservatism means to join that conversation. On one level, this national conservatism group makes a needed contribution when it stresses that the nation is…Richard M. Reinsch II -
- News
Pro-Family Groups Urge Disney to Protect Kids, Stop Pushing LGBT Agenda
As Walt Disney Co. employees staged an all-day walkout Tuesday to protest what they say is the company’s insufficient response to a parental rights bill in Florida, the Family Policy Alliance and the Florida Family Policy Council called on the entertainment giant to stop taking sides on controversial issues and to protect families and children. “As…Maggie Hroncich -
- News
Sen. Ron Johnson Asks ‘Full Accounting’ of Biden Family’s Chinese Business Deals
Americans need a “full accounting of Biden Inc.’s financial entanglements” with China, said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who helped lead an earlier probe into the international business deals of President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. A newly published book, “Red Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win” by Peter Schweizer, asserts that five…Fred Lucas -
- News
‘Maybe You’ll Need to Report a Relative to the FBI!’ An Atlantic Writer’s Advice For Dealing With Conservative Family on Thanksgiving
A Wednesday newsletter from The Atlantic urged readers to use Thanksgiving as an opportunity to “deprogram” their conservative relatives. “Maybe you’ll plant the seed, sow just a little doubt about whatever Tucker Carlson is saying now,” Molly Jong-Fast wrote. “Or maybe you’ll need to report a relative to the FBI!” Jong-Fast described Thanksgiving as an invariably disappointing…Laurel Duggan -
- News
In 2020, Their Family Business Burned Down in Kenosha Riots. Here’s How They’re Doing Today.
KENOSHA, Wis.—Last year, The Daily Signal shared the story of a family whose business was destroyed during the 2020 riots in Kenosha. “Everything burned to the ground,” Raquel Santiago told The Daily Signal in 2020 about her family’s ice cream shop, which had opened in 2004. “Expensive machines, compressors. I mean, things that you cannot…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
Government Supports Would Grow to $76,400 per Poor Family
The House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on the partisan Build Back Better Act. This legislation, if enacted, would generate the largest increase in means-tested welfare spending in U.S. history. >>> Update: The House narrowly passed the $2 trillion social spending bill Nov. 19 by a vote of 220-213. The Senate will…Robert Rector -
- Opinion
Healing the Family and Saving the Country
When I was 9 years old, my parents separated and then divorced. When I was 15, I announced to my mother that I no longer would go to church. Apparently, in doing so, I was living out a common phenomenon. As marriage declines, so does religious belief, John Van Epp and J.P. De Gance point…Katharine Gorka -
- News
EXCLUSIVE: Lawmakers, Ambassadors Commemorate Global Declaration Challenging ‘Right’ to Abortion, Upholding Role of Family
Lawmakers, ambassadors, and embassy officials gathered Thursday in Washington to commemorate a pro-life, pro-family international declaration signed by the United States during the Trump administration. President Joe Biden ordered the withdrawal of the United States from the Geneva Consensus Declaration almost immediately after he succeeded Donald Trump as president Jan. 20. Speakers at the gathering…Mary Margaret Olohan