What truths do we still hold? Do most Americans still agree that there is a Creator Who has endowed us with our essential, “inalienable” rights? That government's task is to protect those rights as a faithful and tenacious steward, not claim authorship of them and the right to redefine or even destroy them?
Does the Constitution still matter? Is it merely a literary antique, a document whose clear meaning can be suffused into a pool of positivism and relativism and subjective preference, depending on the jurist and his or her rank in the federal court system?
At FRC, we still hold certain truths as self-evident. Whether related to the sanctity of unborn life and the dignity deserved by their mothers, the nature of marriage, or the religious liberty that composes the foundation of every other liberty, we are unmoved by calls to denigrate what revelation, reason, conscience, hard scientific data, and an honest accounting of the experiences of life all tell us.
That’s why, as you know, FRC has taken a leading role in seeking to sustain the legal definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. At the end of this edition of The Social Conservative Review, we have attached a special section linking to FRC resources on the Supreme Court's recent oral arguments on same-sex unions. We hope they are useful in informing your thinking and motivating your action.
Thanks for continuing to stand with us.
Sincerely,
Rob Schwarzwalder
Senior Vice-President
Family Research Council
P.S. Be sure to read National Journal’s profile of our new Chief of Staff, Shannon Royce and join us in welcoming her to the FRC team!
Education
- Percentage of Children with a Learning Disability by Family Structure and Religious Worship - Marriage and Religion Research Institute
- Do parents hold aces in Common Core conflict? – OneNewsNow.com
Human Dignity and the Sanctity of Life
Abortion
- Of Course the Satanic Temple Embraces Abortion, and Of Course the Left Applauds- National Review Online
- Abortion Activist Defends Killing Her Disabled Baby in an Abortion: I Wanted a Better Baby- LifeNews
- Chen Guangcheng: 360 to 400 Million Babies Have Been Aborted in China Since Adoption of the One-Child Policy – LifeNews.com
- Is the ‘Right to Abortion’ Analogous to Gun Rights? – Canon and Culture
- Pro-Life Organizations Pledge to Risk Violating D.C. Anti-Discrimination Law –The Daily Signal
Adoption
To sign a Mother’s Day card thanking women who have chosen to give their babies up for adoption in an era when abortion is so readily accessible, go to “To Birth Moms with Love,” a ministry of Brave Love, “A pro-adoption movement dedicated to changing the perception of adoption by acknowledging birth moms for their brave decision.”
- Tax credits help offset the high cost of adoption – Pittsburgh Courier
- Families formed through adoption – Greensburg Daily News
Assisted Suicide
- Publicity over assisted suicide corresponds with significant increase in assisted suicides and requests for lethal drugs in Oregon- National Right to Life
- Resisting the death movement- Washington Times
- Physician-Assisted Suicide Compromises the Family and Intergenerational Obligations- Heritage Foundation
Bioethics
- The Sherri Shepherd Surrogacy Case Is a Mess. Prepare for More Like It.- Slate
- Ban DNA Editing Human Embryos, NIH Says – Scientific American
Marriage & Family
- The Protective Role of Family Meals for Youth Obesity: 10-Year Longitudinal Associations - The Journal of Pediatrics
- Gender disparities among the association between cumulative family-level stress & adolescent weight status -Preventive Medicine
- Polygamy Increases Risk of Heart Disease by More than 4-fold - European Society of Cardiology
Economy and the family
- Social Capital and the Family: Evidence that Strong Family Ties Cultivate Civic Virtues - Economica
- Religion as a Determinant of Economic and Demographic Behavior in the United States - Population and Development Review
- What Federal Regulations Mean for Your Family – Christian Headlines
- Why Philanthropy Is Essential To Family Businesses – Forbes
Fatherhood
- Baltimore’s missing fathers – Washington Times
- The Impact of Fatherhood – Dr. Tony Evans
Homosexuality & Gender Issues
- Feminine Genius and Sexual Difference- National Catholic Register
- U.S. top court rejects challenge to New Jersey 'gay conversion therapy' ban – Reuters
- Sex Change Surgery: What Bruce Jenner, Diane Sawyer and You Should Know – Public Discourse
- “In God’s Image:” Discussion and Observation About Homosexuality and Christian Faith – Michael Easley: In Context Radio
- Same-Sex Marriage in America: Links to Resources – Radical Blog
- "Sex Change" Surgery: What Bruce Jenner, Diane Sawyer, and You Should Know – The Public Discourse
- The Bible on Abusive vs. “Committed” Same-Sex Relationships - The Cripplegate
Pornography
- Baltimore city employee fired after watching porn on the job for 39 hours over two weeks – Baltimore Sun
- “Sex Box” Cancelled After Five Episodes – Parent’s Television Council
Human Trafficking
- Current Statutes, Systems, and Services Responses to Juvenile Sex Trafficking – Shared Hope International
- Nepal quake survivors face threat from human traffickers supplying sex trade- The Guardian
Marriage
- Social Media is the New Marriage Minefield - Slater and Gordon
- The Childless Millennial- The Atlantic
- A Common Sense Guide to Same Sex Marriage and the Constitution – Canon and Culture
Religious Liberty and Persecution
Domestic
- Obama’s Lawyer: Religious Institutions May Lose Tax-Exempt Status If Court Rules for Gay Marriage - National Review
- American Jacobins: Sexual Revolutionaries Prepare the Battlespace for a De-Christianized America - National Review
- Pro-life, religious groups resist illegal DC bills; ADF ready to defend those affected -Alliance Defending Freedom
- ADF: Ky. T-shirt company not required to promote message it disagrees with - Alliance Defending Freedom
- Will marriage ruling jeopardize critical private-public partnerships?, - The Hill
- Bakers face $135,000 fine for refusing to make cake for gay wedding - Fox News
- Oregon panel proposes $135K hit against bakers in gay-wedding cake dispute - Washington Times
- New GoFundMe rule makes it easy to kill Christian campaigns - Washington Times
- Defense Department: The Bible, Constitution and Declaration of Independence All Perpetuate Sexism - Daily Caller
- The Religious-Liberty War - Commentary
- Pastor Rick Warren: Foreign Gov’ts ‘Not Nearly As Afraid Of The Church As The American Gov’t Is’ –Breitbart
- Or For Poorer: How Same-Sex Marriage Threatens Religious Liberty – Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy
- Supreme Court Protects Religious Ministries For Sixth Time From IRS Fines –The Becket Fund
- Many Evangelicals Wary of Faith Requirements for Campus Groups - Christianity Today
International
- With Malice Toward Nun - National Review
- Chinese Persecution of Christians Reaches Highest Level in Decades - Washington Free Beacon
- Defending Religious Liberty Against All Enemies, Foreign and Domestic – Travis Weber, Regent University School of Law
- New Annual Report on International Religious Liberty – FRC Blog
- Political Islam: Will It Bury Us? – Hoover Digest
Religion in Public Life
Christian faith and politics
- Catholics must be active in politics, no matter how 'dirty,' pope says- National Catholic Reporter
- Five Myths About Christian Engagement in the Public Square – Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Southern Baptist Convention
- You Can’t Hide from the Culture Wars – The Gospel Coalition
- Protest and Survival, But How? – First Things
- If You Want to Destroy Your Church, Follow Liberals’ Advice – National Review
Other Stories of Note
- Violence in Baltimore Social Science Resources for Journalists and Public Officials. - Marriage and Religion Research Institute
- Herbert Hoover's Crusade Against Collectivism – Hoover Institution, Stanford
- Courage: The Cure for News-Weariness – The Stream
- Report: Harvard Faculty Supports Democrats a Whopping 96% of the Time - Townhall.com
- A Discussion of Reform Conservatism - Claremont Review of Books
- The Defenestration of a Conservative Professor – Commentary
Recent Family Research Council Resources on the Marriage Redefinition Debate
Video
- Tony Perkins on “Face the Nation,” April 26, 2015
- Cathy Ruse on CBN News, April 22, 2015
- E.W. Jackson on “Fox and Friends,” April 28, 2015
Publications
- Man on Admission: Obama Lawyer Donald Verrilli Reveals Taxing Truth – Tony Perkins, The Christian Post
- Tony Perkins on Supreme Court Oral Arguments: “American People Will Not Accept Redefinition of Marriage” – Statement issued April 28, 2015
- Frank Bruni's Anti-Christian Fascism – Tony Perkins and Rob Schwarzwalder, The Christian Post
- GoShunnedMe: Fund Site Dumps Christians, Changes Policy – Tony Perkins’ Washington Update
- Will marriage ruling jeopardize critical private-public partnerships? – Ken Blackwell and Travis Weber, The Hill
- Sociologists Mislead Supreme Court, Put Politics Ahead of Science on Same-Sex Parenting – Pat Fagan, The Stream
- American Sociological Association Vs American College of Pediatricians: Use and Abuse of Sociology in Amicus Briefs to the Supreme Court – Pat Fagan, Marriage and Religion Research Institute
- Will marriage ruling jeopardize critical private-public partnerships? - J. Kenneth Blackwell and Travis Weber, Esq.
- Upcoming Marriage Case Puts Court's Credibility At Risk – Chris Gacek, Investor’s Business Daily
- Why Should Five Justices Decide on Same-Sex Marriage for the Country? – Cathy Ruse, USA Today
- Understanding the Definitions of the New Sexual Tolerance – Rob Schwarzwalder, Canon and Culture
- “The Defense of Marriage and the Right of Religious Freedom,” on the recent ecumenical statement upholding one-man, one-woman marriage – Rob Schwarzwalder, FRC Blog
- Memo to Hillary Clinton: On Marriage, Here Christians Stand and We're Not Moving – Rob Schwarzwalder, The Christian Post
- We Will Love and Not Be Silent – Rob Schwarzwalder, Christian Post
- Marriage at the Supreme Court: Why One-Man, One-Woman State Laws Remain Constitutional – Peter Sprigg, FRC Issue Analysis
- The wrong argument against traditional marriage: Marriage laws don’t deal with the issue of “sexual orientation” – Peter Sprigg and Paul Linton, Washington Times
- Kentucky Judge Affirms First Amendment – Travis Weber, FRC Blog
- Law Firms Betray Their Principles When They Shun Unpopular Representation – Travis Weber, Townhall.com
