Heritage Foundation Leadership for America

PUBLICATIONS BY Thomas M. Messner

Research

• 2009
• 2008

2009 Research

October 22, 2009
The Price of Prop 8
By Thomas M. Messner
(Backgrounder #2328)
Supporters of Proposition 8 in California have been subjected to harassment, intimidation, vandalism, racial scapegoating, blacklisting, loss of employment, economic hardships, angry protests, violence, at least one death threat, and gross expressions of anti-religious bigotry. Arguments for same-sex marriage are based fundamentally on the idea that limiting marriage to the union of husband and wife is a form of bigotry, irrational prejudice, and even hatred against homosexual persons. As this ideology seeps into the culture more generally, individuals and institutions that support marriage as the union of husband and wife risk paying a price for that belief in many legal, social, economic, and cultural contexts.

October 22, 2009
Executive Summary: The Price of Prop 8
By Thomas M. Messner
(Executive Summary #2328)
Supporters of Proposition 8 in California have been subjected to harassment, intimidation, vandalism, racial scapegoating, blacklisting, loss of employment, economic hardships, angry protests, violence, at least one death threat, and gross expressions of anti-religious bigotry. Arguments for same-sex marriage are based fundamentally on the idea that limiting marriage to the union of husband and wife is a form of bigotry, irrational prejudice, and even hatred against homosexual persons. As this ideology seeps into the culture more generally, individuals and institutions that support marriage as the union of husband and wife risk paying a price for that belief in many legal, social, economic, and cultural contexts.

September 18, 2009
ENDA and the Path to Same-Sex Marriage
By Thomas M. Messner
(Backgrounder #2317)
A significant body of evidence suggests that sexual orientation nondiscrimination laws like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) can function as important incremental steps toward same-sex marriage. This evidence, which shows how effective a step-by-step strategy can be for redefining marriage, provides substantial cause for individuals who support marriage as the union of husband and wife to be concerned about local, state, and federal nondiscrimination laws like ENDA.

September 18, 2009
Executive Summary: ENDA and the Path to Same-Sex Marriage
By Thomas M. Messner
(Executive Summary #2317)
A significant body of evidence suggests that sexual orientation nondiscrimination laws like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) can function as important incremental steps toward same-sex marriage. This evidence, which shows how effective a step-by-step strategy can be for redefining marriage, provides substantial cause for individuals who support marriage as the union of husband and wife to be concerned about local, state, and federal nondiscrimination laws like ENDA.

January 13, 2009
Defending Marriage
By Thomas M. Messner and Jennifer A. Marshall
(Special Report #46)
President-elect Obama, you have stated on more than one occasion that marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman.  You have also explained that you do not favor same-sex marriage.

2008 Research

December 16, 2008
Protecting and Strengthening Religious Freedom
By Ryan Messmore and Thomas M. Messner
(Special Report #36)
President-elect Obama, you spoke truthfully when you said that "[o]ur law is by definition a codification of morality, much of it grounded in the Judeo–Christian tradition."

October 30, 2008
Same-Sex Marriage and the Threat to Religious Liberty
By Thomas M. Messner
(Backgrounder #2201)
Judicial decisions redefining marriage to include same-sex unions state that limiting marriage to men and women is a form of unacceptable dis-crimination against homosexuals. Individuals and institutions that believe mar­riage is a relationship between a man and a woman could lose access to government ben­efits and become subject to costly lawsuits under nondiscrimination laws that protect sexual orientation, gender, and marital status.

October 30, 2008
Executive Summary: Same–Sex Marriage and the Threat to Religious Liberty
By Thomas M. Messner
(Executive Summary #2201)
Judicial decisions redefining marriage to include same-sex unions state that limiting marriage to men and women is a form of unacceptable dis­crimination against homosexuals. Individuals and institutions that believe mar­riage is a relationship between a man and a woman could lose access to government ben­efits and become subject to costly lawsuits under nondiscrimination laws that protect sexual orientation, gender, and marital status.