Family and Marriage
The family is the building block of society. When marriages and families are healthy, communities thrive; when marriages break down, communities break down.
A Portrait of Family and Religion in America - Study illustrating the intact family that worships weekly is the greatest generator of human and social goods and least generator of social ills, and that the broken family that does not worship is the greatest generator of social ills and the least generator of social goods.
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Marriage is uniquely beneficial to society because it is the foundation of the family and the basic building block of society.
Marriage is not merely a private contract, but a social institution of great public concern.
As social science research and government surveys increasingly show, the decline in marriage since the 1960s has been accompanied by a rise in a number of serious social problems. The Heritage Foundation has produced “The Positive Effects of Marriage: A Book of Charts” which documents the positive affects of marriage on men, women and children as well as the detrimental affects of broken marriages on individuals.
Marriage has traditionally been understood as the union of one man and one woman.
"Marriage… is the civil status of one man and one woman united in law for life, for the discharge to each other and the community of the duties legally incumbent on those who association is founded on the distinction of sex." Black's Law Dictionary, dating back to 1891 Regardless of religion, culture or constitutional tradition, societies have always agreed on the nature of marriage.
Our Political Leaders Agree…. “Marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman.” President George W. Bush
“The word ‘marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman as a husband and wife.” Former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle
“I have long opposed governmental recognition of same-gender marriages.” Former President Bill Clinton
“Marriage between a man and a woman is vital to the stability and preservation of our society in which a father and a mother raise and nurture children.” Senator Rick Santorum
And most Americans agree that marriage is a union of one man and one woman. Since the legalization of homosexual "marriage" in Massachusetts in 2004, 19 states have voted overwhelmingly to amend their state constitutions to preserve marriage as between a man and a woman. Heritage research tracks the percentages of passage of state Constitutional amendments as well as updated status of marriage legislation in each state.
Question: “Do you think that marriages between homosexuals should or should not be recognized by law as valid with the same rights as traditional marriage?”
58% Should not be Valid
Source: See Lydia Saad, Americans Still Oppose Gay Marriage, Gallup News Service, May 22, 2006, available at http://www.gallup.com/poll/22882/Americans-Still-Oppose-Gay-Marriage.aspx |
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