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
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….Melissa Quinn -
- 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…Paul Draper -
- News
‘Quintessential Insider Deal’: Taxpayers Finance Family Ties of 2 Failing Green Companies
Grassroots conservative activists who run a reboot of Ronald Reagan’s political action committee want to know why the government allows one failing company to buy another failing company while both get taxpayer subsidies. They also want to know why corporate executives with friends in high places have not been subjected to more scrutiny after receiving…Kevin Mooney -
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Social Conservatives Declare Victory on Bathrooms, Marriage in GOP Platform
CLEVELAND—After fending off attempts to change the Republican Party’s official position on LGBT issues and traditional marriage, a coalition of social conservatives cautiously celebrated an early victory Monday afternoon. Before the Grand Old Party picks its presidential nominee formally, a select set of delegates on the platform committee will spend the week staking out Republican…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
Why Young Adults Both Want and Fear Marriage
When we interviewed Carly, 31, in the summer of 2010, she had been in an on-again, off-again cohabiting relationship with the father of her child for about 12 years. Never married, she called marriage a “piece of paper.” One year later, however, she had broken up with her longtime boyfriend and was engaged to a…Amber and David Lapp -
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Religious Liberty and Same-Sex Marriage Takes Center Stage in Congress
Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are bracing for what is likely to be a contentious hearing Tuesday on Capitol Hill over legislation aimed at protecting individuals and organizations who hold traditional views about marriage and sexuality. The long-awaited hearing, called by Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, will…Kelsey Bolar -
- Opinion
One Year After Same-Sex Marriage Decision, Dissent Not Permitted
By now, nearly one year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, it should be clear that the aggressive and unreasonable elements of the LGBT movement cannot harmonize themselves with freedom for Christians and other conscientious objectors. With few, commendable examples, the LGBT movement’s activist class, who advocated for same-sex marriage and…Travis Weber -
- Opinion
What Liberals Get Wrong About the Family
Conservatives are wrong to accuse the liberals of relativism. They are not relativists, but have fanatical attachment to certain ideals, which conservatives often fail to understand. One such ideal is autonomy, which guides their entire sexual agenda. As I argue in “The Obligations of Family Life: A Response to Modern Liberalism,” the Left’s understanding of…Scott Yenor -
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3 People Behind the Effort to Remove Judge for Her Views on Marriage
Her cell phone rang while Judge Ruth Neely was hanging Christmas lights outside her home in Pinedale, Wyoming. She didn’t notice that she had missed a call until she went inside to untangle a string of lights. When Neely called back, the young man who answered identified himself as a reporter from the local newspaper….Ken McIntyre -
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Judge Faces Removal, $40K Fine Because of Her Beliefs About Marriage
A state agency wants to remove a small-town judge in Wyoming from two posts because she told a reporter that her religious beliefs would prevent her from solemnizing same-sex marriages. In her full-time responsibilities, Municipal Judge Ruth Neely isn’t authorized to preside over marriages. In part-time duties on the local Circuit Court, though, she could…Ken McIntyre -
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A Family-Owned Business Braces for California’s Minimum Wage Hike
SAN DIEGO—Elvin Lai has been in the hospitality business his entire life. The San Diego hotel where he serves as chief executive officer has been in his family for four generations, and Lai can rattle off childhood memories of his younger years spent at the beachfront property. Lai asked that his hotel name not be…Melissa Quinn -
- Opinion
Mississippi Moves to Protect Religious Freedom on Marriage
This morning, the Mississippi House passed a bill, HB 1523, protecting religious freedom. If the House disposes of a procedural maneuver that has delayed a final vote until Monday, the bill will go to the governor’s desk for his signature, as the Senate passed the bill earlier this week. The bill is good policy and the governor should…Ryan T. Anderson -
- Opinion
Filibusted: Missouri Democrats Fail to Block Religious Liberty Bill Concerning Same-Sex Marriage
A minority of Missouri legislators held a much needed religious liberty proposal hostage in Jefferson City over the last two days. Democrats there filibustered for over 36 hours against SJR 39, a commonsense bill that would let Missouri citizens vote to ban government discrimination against people of faith because of their beliefs about marriage. This was the…Roger Severino -
- News
Conservative Gay Marriage Advocates Urge Tolerance for Religious Objectors
Right-leaning advocates of gay marriage called for acceptance at the 2016 Conservative Political Action Conference, urging liberals to display more tolerance when addressing the issues of gay marriage and religious liberty. “This conversation that we are having right now literally couldn’t happen at a left-wing conference, because we’d all be hounded off the stage and…Kelsey Bolar -
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Judge Rules Catholic Diocese Can Fire Employee in Same-Sex Marriage
A Missouri court has ruled that religious liberty rights prohibit courts from interfering with a Catholic diocese’s firing of an employee for being in a same-sex marriage, which conflicts with church teaching. The Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph terminated Colleen Simon’s employment in 2014, citing “irreconcilable conflict between the laws, discipline, and teaching of the Catholic Church”…Kristiana Mork -
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NY Farmers Fined $13K For Declining to Host a Same-Sex Marriage End Their Legal Fight
Cynthia and Robert Gifford, the owners of a small farm in upstate New York who were ordered to pay $13,000 for refusing to host a same-sex wedding ceremony, chose to end their legal battle with the state of New York on Tuesday. Of the decision, their lawyer, James Trainor, told The Daily Signal the lawsuit…Kelsey Bolar -
- Opinion
Why Family-Friendly Movies Are Gaining Ground in Hollywood
Moviegoers may think of the Oscars as the ultimate awards ceremony, but if you are interested in the best family-friendly movies and televisions shows of the past year, then you’ll want to check out the Movieguide Awards, airing this week on ReelzTV and listed here. I attended the awards event and spoke with Movieguide founder…Genevieve Wood -
- Opinion
The Economic Value of Marriage
In honor of National Marriage Week, consider this question: Does marriage impact the economic well-being of societies? One of the most important answers to the solution of poverty lies not in government programs, but in the institution of marriage. For the past 50 years, our country has been losing the war against poverty. More than…Elisabeth Zenger -
- Opinion
Love and Marriage: The Secret to a Lasting Relationship
This is National Marriage Week, and it is fitting that the week ends with Valentine’s Day. After all, commitment of marriage vows provides the foundation for the lasting love that is heralded in the holiday greeting cards. Sadly, throughout the past 50 years, marriage rates have plummeted, while the rates of cohabitation among couples have…Collette Caprara -
- Opinion
How Marriage Helps Kids
Marriage is especially important for children. Fifty years of social science has shown that kids do better on a wide range of outcomes when they grow up in homes with their married biological parents. Unfortunately for children being born in America today, marriage is becoming rarer. According to the Heritage Foundation’s 2015 Index of Culture…Melody Wood