Ruth Institute Blog

Delivered January 23, 2012 in Olympia, Washington

by Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse

I am here today to address those of you who have already made up your minds to redefine marriage.  History will not be kind to you.  Previous generations of social experimenters have caused unimaginable misery for millions of people.  Particular people advocated the policies that led to today’s 50% divorce rate and 40% out of wedlock childbearing rate. None of these people has ever been held accountable. Read more…

by Maggie Gallagher

August 23, 2011 http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2011/08/3761

Presidential candidates in the next election should uphold marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

The mainstream media have labeled marriage the “hottest front in the culture war.” Much to the media’s surprise, several of the GOP candidates have already signed the National Organization of Marriage’s (NOM) Marriage Pledge. They were surprised by major candidates’ willingness to sign NOM’s pledge because this was supposed to be the year the social issues did not matter. Read more…

The Catholic Bishops of Maryland have issued a statement, “The Most Sacred of All Property:  Religious Freedom and the People of Maryland.”

Despite its title, the principles it lays out and the examples it uses are applicable to the entire United States.  People of all faiths, not just Catholics, will find it a helpful defense when faced with marriage and family issues.

Read it here.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/11/15/obamas_catholic_strategy_in_shambles_112067.html

Obama’s Catholic outreach is being revealed as a transparent ploy a year before he faces re-election. A portion of the Democratic coalition — including civil libertarians and pro-choice activists — has decided to attack and marginalize Catholic leaders and institutions. And HHS is actively siding against Catholic organizations. Read more…

Thanksgiving Family Forum in Des Moines Provides Platform for Discussion of Family Issues

DES MOINES, IOWA – The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is co-sponsoring the Thanksgiving Family Forum for Republican Presidential candidates this week. The event, held on Saturday, November 19 at First Federated Church in Des Moines, will be an in-depth conversation with each of the candidates about their positions and policies as they relate to the family. Unlike many of the other candidate events, this won’t be a debate, but a chance to get to know the candidates better in a warm, family-friendly environment. Read more…

Consultants brought to Topeka by Gov. Sam Brownback to help outline a new pro-marriage initiative considered development of a “family preparatory” curriculum for high school students and elimination of financial penalties suffered by couples who marry while on public assistance. Read more…

by Carolyn Moynihan

Programmes in the United States that promote marriage or fatherhood have received a new round of funding from the federal government — nearly $120 million, all up. The funding was begun by President George W Bush. Read more…

California Republican Party Votes to Maintain One Man-One Woman Marriage In Party Platform

SAN MARCOS, CA – The Ruth Institute, a project of the National Organization for Marriage Education Fund, commended the California GOP today in response to their vote at the September 16-18 convention to maintain a strong defense of traditional marriage: Read more…

Based on what I saw and heard at this convention, I would have to conclude that the CA GOP doesn’t want to talk about social issues. Their general session featured report after report on everything but social issues. The workshops and panels: jobs, jobs, jobs. 

Now, my free market credentials are certainly in order: I taught in the George Mason University economics department for 10 years. My admiration for the free market is second to none. But, I certainly recall people accusing us of caring about property rights, not human rights, and accusing us of caring only about money, not people. I always tried to argue that property rights, properly understood, are human rights, and that money matters to real people.  

Well the CA GOP seemed determined to confirm this old stereotype.  Yes, the economy of CA is in bad shape and free market solutions would be a good thing. But there are plenty of other things to talk about, that would be good, unifying issues. For instance:

SB 48, the gay history textbook bill.  This bill is so bad that even the LA Times opposed it as being micromanaging of the school textbooks.  With the state in a Read more…

I spent the weekend at the CA GOP convention. I had heard that there was a move afoot by a wealthy “Republican” to strip the party platform of the pro-marriage and pro-life planks. Rumor was, that this gentleman, Charles Munger, paid people to support his watered down version of the platform.  Since I live in San Deigo, and the convention was in LA, I went to keep an eye on things. I brought with me a couple of family members and ITAF grads. I did some “real time” posting on my facebook page yesterday.  Here’s the summary.

The full platform committee voted to preserve the pro-life and pro-marriage language that has been part of the platform for some time. Interestingly enough, the argument for the new platform was not, “let’s take out the life and marriage stuff.”  The argument was, “the old platform doesn’t have enough about jobs and the economy.”  

Well, Mike Spence (see below) took care of that argument.  He pointed out that the platform has plenty of support for free markets and job creation. It also has plenty about the social issues that matter so much to so many people.  He pointed Read more…

by Jennifer Roback Morse

This article was first published at Mercatornet.com September 16, 2011.

Last week’s hearing in the California Supreme Court on whether the proponents of Prop 8 have standing to defend the measure in court seemed to go well for the defenders of natural marriage. But another issue lies beneath the surface of the court arguments. The issue is what kind of people are the marriage redefiners: Ted Olsen, Rob Reiner, and the American Foundation for Equal Rights? Read more…

I am attending the CA Republican Convention at the relentlessly stylish J W Marriott Hotel at LA Live. (I’m not kidding: even the bathroom fixtures are funky!)  There is a movement afoot to change the Platform of the CA Republican Party, including removing the pro-life and pro-marriage language that has long been part of the platform. A few of us have come up from San Diego to see what is going on.  Some of my Ruth Institute students have shown up from different universities around the state.

Last night, Michele Bachmann gave the dinner speech. She was electrifying. Intelligent. Persuasive. I agreed with virtually everything she said.  And yet, and yet. …

She did not say a single word about social issues. Not a word, to a state party that is on the verge of gutting its platform of pro-life and pro-marriage language. Not a word, in the deep blue state that nonetheless won Proposition 8. Not a word about marriage, in spite of the fact that far more people voted for the marriage issue, than who voted for Republican Party candidates. The GOP has no statewide Read more…

Take note of the parts in blue at the bottom.

by  Maggie Gallagher

Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011, was a good day for marriage.

North Carolina legislators voted to send a marriage amendment to the people of that state in 2012.

And in New York, the first clear Democratic casualty of gay marriage emerged: David Weprin. Read more…

The Republican won in NY 9, the special election to fill Anthony Wiener’s seat.  This is a complete political upset, and the marriage issue was part of the story. Yet, today, the former head of the CA Republican Party says it was all about Israel.  The Jews voted for the Republican over Israel. End of story.

Hello: It seems to me there are quite a few Democrats who are soft on Israel.  It seems to me there are quite a few Jews who vote routinely for Democratic candidates, regardless of their position on Israel.  I wonder what it could be that was different in this particular case?

Gee, there was a widely publicized vote on the definition of marriage in New York state in the past few months and these two candidates diverged sharply on the issue.  This heavily Democratic district voted against the candidate that voted against natural marriage. What will it take for the political establishment to accept the fact that marriage is a winning issue?

Metaphorically, that is. There is an empty seat in District 9, Anthony Weiner’s Congressional old seat, which he had to give up in disgrace due to his lack of sexual discretion. (understatement. LOL.)  Anyhow, one of the candidates for that seat is a guy called David Weprin.  While in the NY state legislature, he voted in favor of redefining marriage. He describes himself as an orthodox Jew.  Here is a news release NOM, our sister organization put out, wherein an Orthodox rabbi, Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein, tells people to vote against David Weprin, specifically because of his vote to redefine marriage.

This race will be interesting to watch.  It will be an indication of how much voters care about the marriage issue. According to the Washington Post,  ”Democrats are already blaming New York Democratic nominee David Weprin’s vote for same-sex marriage from when he was in the state Assembly for alienating Jewish voters.”

This is ordinarily a safely Democratic district.  Maybe the politicos will learn something….

by Maggie Gallagher

September 7, 2011 http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2011/09/3919

Monday’s Presidential Forum broke new ground.

The goal of the American Principles Project Palmetto Freedom Forum on Monday in Columbia, S.C., was a different kind of debate that would break new ground.

Boy, did it succeed. Read more…

Back in July, the California legislature passed SB 48.  It mandates that all public schools must include positive discussions of the sexual orientations of transgender, bisexual, and gay Americans when teaching their contributions to history.  This includes rewriting text books and using supplemental discussion materials. Read more…

The State should support families and better enable them to survive and thrive.  California, however, is once again making it difficult-to-impossible for families to care for their own members in their own homes.  AB 889 is expected to soon be on Governor Brown‘s desk.

If you hire someone to care for your children in your home while you work, or care for an elderly parent, or care for someone who is sick or handicapped, AB 889 (Domestic Work Employees) would require you to provide rest breaks every two hours, carry Workers’ Comp insurance, issue paychecks with itemized pay stubs, etc.  It also allows for lawsuits and penalties if “employers” (aka Mom and Dad) fail to know and follow all of the labyrinthine requirements:

AB 889: “Adventures in Babysitting” Bill Is Making Its Way to the Governor’s Desk

 

How will parents react when they find out they will be expected to provide workers’ compensation benefits, rest and meal breaks and paid vacation time for…babysitters? Dinner and a movie night may soon become much more complicated.

 

Assembly Bill 889 (authored by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano of San Francisco) will require these protections for all “domestic employees,” including nannies, housekeepers and caregivers. The bill has already passed the Assembly and is quickly moving through the Senate with blanket support from the Democrat members that control both houses of the Legislature – and without the support of a single Republican member. Assuming the bill will easily clear its last couple of legislative hurdles, AB 889 will soon be on its way to the Governor’s desk. Read more…

by Helen Alvaré

August 26, 2011 http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2011/08/3800

Religious communities are an essential part of the fabric of America, even over and above the vital services they provide to weak and vulnerable members of our communities; we must protect their conscience rights against legal coercion. Read more…

By Francis J. Beckwith

With the increasing likelihood that Mitt Romney will be the Republican nominee for President, it is important for Catholics and other Christians to reflect on some concerns raised by Damon Linker in a 2007 New Republic article. Linker argues that Mormon theology does not have important resources that traditional Christians have at their disposal, such as natural-law theory.   Read more…