Polygamists Successfully Using Same-Sex Marriage Arguments in Court

Marriage, ,

You may have seen the news, yesterday, that a federal judge in Utah struck part of the state’s ban on polygamy.

In effect, the judge decriminalized polygamy, although he did not go so far as to say the state must give legal recognition to plural “marriages.”

The judge’s ruling relied in part on court rulings same-sex marriage activists have obtained over the years, specifically citing Lawrence v. Texas, a case that has been central to virtually every lawsuit over same-sex marriage, including the Supreme Court decision last summer to strike part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

We’ve written before about how polygamists hope to benefit from same-sex marriage. Now it’s happening. Polygamist cults in Utah are riding the coattails of same-sex marriage.

Below is a video of Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins discussing the issue on CNN last night.

Click here to read more about the court ruling.

Click here to read the judge’s opinion.

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Ark. Supreme Court Ruling Undermines Marriage, Child Welfare

Family, Marriage,

The Arkansas Supreme Court issued a ruling yesterday overturning a lower court’s child custody order that prohibited an Arkansas man from having overnight visitation at home with his son while the man’s live-in boyfriend was in the home.

Up until now, child custody rulings have typically favored married couples over cohabiting couples, because transient boarders in a home can pose an unknown risk to child welfare, and because research demonstrates time and time again that the most stable environment for a child is with a married mom and dad. This court ruling undermines what we know to be good policy for the children of Arkansas. In effect, it says whether a parent is married or not is irrelevant to the child. That’s utter nonsense.

Some people say these situations need to be examined on a case-by-case basis. The fact is when it comes to child custody as well as adoption and foster care, the State of Arkansas has a number of ‘blanket rules’ it uses. These rules are based on what the state believes will contribute the most to child welfare. If we know children fair better in one type of home as opposed to another, why would we put them in anything less than the best home possible?

The Arkansas Supreme Court has effectively said that marriage doesn’t matter, and the real victims are the innocent children caught in the middle of custody disputes.

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Jerry Meets With Delegation From Republic of Georgia

Current Events, , ,

A delegation from the Republic of Georgia visited Family Council on Thursday.

Family Council President Jerry Cox and Government Affairs Director Ken Yang spoke to the group about current issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage, and the attack on religious liberty in the U.S.

The members of the delegation appeared to be supportive of traditional marriage and pro-life. Jerry showed the group two framed letters from the wall of his office. The first was a personal letter from Bill Clinton in which he, as governor, promised to sign a pro-life bill Jerry had lobbied for. The other was a 1985 letter from President Ronald Reagan commending the pro-life work being done by Rob Shafer, Kevin McCray, Jerry, and others. The members of the delegation were visibly impressed by the Reagan letter.

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