Family and Marriage News
Coverage of family life, marriage, parenting, and cultural issues shaping households across America, with clear reporting and thoughtful analysis.
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news
Michigan Farmer Fights Back Against City Banning Traditional Marriage Supporters From Farmers Market
A small-town farmer in St. Johns, Michigan, got creative in his fight against East Lansing city officials, who banned another farmer’s family from selling produce at the city’s farmers market because they refuse to host same-sex weddings on their farm. Watch the video to learn how one farmer, Kyle Barnhart, is countering officials who he claims… -
news
Couple Banned From Farmers Market Over Same-Sex Marriage Views Speaks Out
After Steve and Bridget Tennes posted on Facebook they wouldn’t host same-sex weddings on their family farm because of their religious beliefs about marriage, city officials in East Lansing banned the couple, owners of Country Mill, from selling produce at the local farmers market 22 miles away. The Daily Signal traveled to Michigan last week to interview… -
news
Christian Baker Fears Loss of ‘Everything’ Unless Supreme Court Upholds Right Not to Make Cakes for Gay Marriages
By deciding to hear the appeal of a Colorado baker, the Supreme Court could make its first ruling next year on whether government may coerce some Christians, Jews, and Muslims to use their creative gifts to celebrate same-sex marriage. The high court announced Monday that it would review the case of baker Jack Phillips, who… -
opinion
Circuit Court Win for Religious Freedom on Gay Marriage
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously on Thursday that a Mississippi law that protects religious liberty and the rights of conscience in light of the redefinition of marriage may go into effect. In the decision, the circuit court overruled a previous judgment from a district court judge who had declared the Mississippi… -
opinion
Welfare Currently Punishes Work and Marriage. This Bill Would End That.
There is much to celebrate in America today. Americans are, on average, wealthier, healthier, and better educated than we ever have been. We’ve made huge strides in civil rights and racial equality. And we have access to technology that would have awed past generations. But fundamentally, our culture and way of life has undergone some… -
opinion
We Hear You: Government’s ‘Heavy Hand’ Punishes Farm Family for Christian View of Marriage
Editor's note: Some of the most compelling emails and comments in recent days were about Fred Lucas' report on the Christian family barred from a Michigan farmers market for its views on marriage and Genevieve Wood's commentary on ESPN's mischaracterizing its own audience survey. Have a look.—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: Fred Lucas’ story on Michigan… -
news
How a Family Doctor Works With Police to Combat a Rural County’s Opioid Epidemic
COLEBROOK, N.H.—Bruce Latham, a lanky, self-employed doctor, occupies a unique position in the depths of rural New Hampshire’s opioid drug addiction crisis. As part of his practice in Colebrook, a town of 2,300 in Coos County, Latham responds to pain by prescribing opioid painkillers. He says he empathizes with patients’ propensity to become addicted to… -
news
Family Homeless Nonprofit Forced to Choose Between Government Funding and Drug-Free Policy
VISTA, CALIF.—Growing up, Teena Faison never imagined she’d find herself a single mom and homeless. “We didn’t wake up one day and go, ‘Hey, I just want to be homeless with my kids,’” she told The Daily Signal “No. There’s many, many contributing factors to that—lack of education, lack of resources, addiction.” At 34 years… -
news
Chairman of Key Oversight Panel Says He Opts for Family Over Government Probes
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, startled constituents and fellow lawmakers Wednesday by announcing he will not seek re-election. Chaffetz has been more visible than most colleagues as chairman since 2015 of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, a post considered critical for government transparency and accountability. “Thank you for allowing me to serve as your… -
news
Vandals Spray-Paint LGBT Slogans on Marriage Groups’ Tour Bus Near UN
Two men spray-painted and smashed the windshield of a tour bus used by the National Organization for Marriage in “broad daylight” Thursday in New York City, the pro-marriage group says. The two men “approached the bus with a can of spray paint and a hammer and they began spray-painting on the side of the bus,”… -
opinion
We Hear You: Religious Liberty, Same-Sex Marriage, and Wedding Cakes
Editor's note: We got a big reaction with our report on the appeals court date for the husband-and-wife Oregon bakers ordered by a state agency to pay $135,000 for declining to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. Here's a sampling to lead off our latest roundup of mail. —Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: How can Aaron… -
news
This Federal Agency Is Targeting a Family Business. A Religious Liberty Organization Is Calling on Trump to Protect It.
A religious liberty organization is asking President Donald Trump to sign a proposed executive order that would protect the religious freedom of a family-owned business and others like it from the punitive actions of an executive agency. “The Vander Boons are at risk of having their plant shut down and their employees left jobless because… -
news
This Filmmaking Couple Doesn’t Want to Be Punished for Not Promoting Same-Sex Marriage
A Minnesota couple is suing state officials to allow their film production company to celebrate marriage as a man-woman union without being forced, against their biblical beliefs, to promote same-sex marriage. Carl and Angel Larsen, of St. Cloud, Minnesota, say they run Telescope Media Group as a way to deploy their storytelling ability and production… -
news
Conservative Lawmakers Say Current Welfare System Is ‘Anti-Family’
With a new Republican administration in tow, conservative lawmakers are renewing their call for welfare reform that incentivizes families rather than punishing them. “When we look at what we want for our society, when we look at the key ingredients that have to be contained within any thriving civilization, there are a couple of common… -
news
The Government Seized $100K From This California Family’s Bank Accounts, College Savings
James Slatic was sitting in a breakfast meeting when he heard the news. An employee who worked for him and his medical marijuana business, Med-West Distribution, called to tell him he arrived at Med-West’s facility in San Diego, California, to find “25 police cars” outside. It was Jan. 28, and on that day, an estimated… -
opinion
Within a Generation, Our National Debt Will Cost the Typical Family $12,000
When confronted in the final presidential debate with the assertion that each of their plans would increase the national debt, the candidates denied it by saying either economic growth or higher taxes would offset this increase. But deficit spending and unsustainable debt pose a significant threat to our economy. The House Budget Committee recognizes this… -
opinion
Obama’s New Death Tax Threatens Family Farms and Businesses
We all knew President Barack Obama’s lame-duck presidency would be bad, but for the millions of Americans who work at family farms and businesses, it’s about to get a lot worse. As Heritage Foundation tax expert Curtis Dubay wrote at The Daily Signal, Obama is trying to sneak in a tax hike in his twilight… -
news
Why This Graphic Designer Isn’t Talking About Her Christian Beliefs on Marriage
Lorie Smith, a graphic designer from Colorado, wants to create custom websites and designs for couples who are getting married. However, Smith, an evangelical Christian, wants to create them only for marriages between one man and one woman. Being compelled to create websites celebrating same-sex marriages, she says in a lawsuit filed Tuesday, would force… -
news
How the $12 Million Illinois Medicaid Gave to Dead People Hurt This Family
Jake Chalkey has defied doctors’ expectations. Born with a brain malformation, Jake wasn’t supposed to live past 2 years old. He suffered from life-threatening seizures, which would be his downfall, doctors said, and it took years for medical professionals to formally diagnose the young boy with a condition they didn’t even have a name for…. -
opinion
Marriage Reduces Child Poverty, but Our Welfare System Penalizes Marriage
According to a recently released study from the American Enterprise Institute, 82 percent of lower-middle-class families with young children face “marriage penalties” in the welfare system. Couples who marry would lose all or some of their welfare benefits because their combined income is often greater than each of their independent incomes. The study found that…