World Family Policy Center Newsletter
* News relative to
protecting the family worldwide *
Volume 3 Issue 5 - February 10, 2004
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: In raising children, all you can do is your
best . . . we take care of the possible and leave the impossible to God.
— Ruth Bell Graham
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Today’s
Contents:
A. Featured Articles:
1. One Man, One Woman
2. UCLA Survey of Nation’s Freshman
3. New Study Finds Most Teens Espouse Parents’ Religious Beliefs
4. Gay Marriage Ban Moves Forward
In Idaho
B. Coming Events
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FEATURED ARTICLES
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1. One
Man, One Woman
A citizen's guide to protecting marriage.
BY MITT ROMNEY, Governor of Massachusetts
Thursday, February 5, 2004 - The Wall Street Journal
No matter how you feel about gay marriage, we should be able to
agree that the citizens and their elected representatives must not be
excluded from a decision as fundamental to society as the definition
of marriage. There are lessons from my state's experience that may
help other states preserve the rightful participation of their legislatures
and citizens, and avoid the confusion now facing Massachusetts.
In a decision handed down in November, a divided Supreme Judicial
Court of Massachusetts detected a previously unrecognized right in our
200-year-old state constitution that permits same-sex couples to wed. I
believe that 4-3 decision was wrongly decided and is deeply mistaken.
Contrary to the court's opinion, marriage is not "an evolving paradigm."
It is deeply rooted in the history, culture and tradition of civil society. It
predates our Constitution and our nation by millennia. The institution of
marriage was not created by government and it should not be redefined
by government.
To read entire article: http://us.f118.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=9545_1153150_7024_1308_3441_0_14215_6979_1930756662&YY=47431&inc=25&order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b&box=Inbox
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2. UCLA
Survey of Nation’s Freshman
Higher Education Research Institute
Report by Shaena Engle released
January 26, 2004
Based on responses of 276,449
students at 413 of the nation’s
baccalaureate colleges and universities.
Findings include:
• Political Interest on the Rebound Among the Nation’s
Freshmen
Report
shows 33.9 percent of students feel that “keeping up to
date with political affairs” is a very important goal in life.
. . . . Recent
years have also witnessed a moderate shift to the political
right among
college freshmen. Still
more college freshman continue to favor the
left. Half of students
consider themselves “middle-of-the-road.”
• Family Values Rank Highest
The
importance of raising a family ranks highest among the
survey’s list of 21 values with a record 74.8 percent of freshman
noting it is a very important or essential like goal.
• Religious Values Decline
Fewer
freshman are attending religious services frequently
had fallen to 80.4
percent, the lowest point in 35 years.
Although
this reflects a small drop of less than 1 percent from last
year’s
report, it is clear that overall levels of religious service
attendance
remain high.
• Drinking, smoking and partying
continue to decline
Report
showed the lowest rates of drinking and smoking in
the history of the
survey, with fewer than half of freshmen reporting
frequent or \occasional beer drinking (44.9 percent compared with
46.5 percent last year and a high of
73.7 percent in 1982)
To read the full report:
http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/03_press_release.pdf
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3. New Study Finds Most
Teens Espouse Parents’
Religious Beliefs
By Paul Chesser — EP News
CHRISTIAN EXAMINER
RALEIGH, N.C. — Contrary to widespread
stereotypes, most
American teen-agers are not alienated
from organized religion,
and as many as two-thirds closely agree with the religious
beliefs
of their parents, according to a new UNC-Chapel Hill study.
The findings released Jan. 13 are
part of a four-year research project
called the National Study of Youth and Religion. The study was
based at the university’s Odum Institute for Research in Social
Science.
Data for the study was culled from a
national survey of 12th-graders
sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. The youth and
religion
study analyzed responses to questions on the survey such as “How
closely do your ideas agree with your parents’ about religion?”
and “
How good or bad a job is being done
for the country as a whole by
churches and religious organizations?”
To read entire report:
http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Feb04/Art_Feb04_16.html
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4. Gay Marriage Ban
Moves Forward In Idaho
Public Packs Hearing; most say it’s a
hate law
By Gregory Hahn
The Idaho Statesman, February 6, 2004
A constitutional amendment against
gay marriage in Idaho is not about hate, the Republican lawmakers who support it
say.
Instead, they say it́s about
supporting traditional families, and a way to keep a judge from overturning the
statés anti-gay marriage laws already on the books.
“Many things have been said here
today,” Mountain Home GOP Rep. Peter Nielsen said. “I dońt know how to
tell you that I dońt hate.”
The committee endorsed the amendment
and sent it to the House floor. But the more than two-to-one
majority of citizens who testified in the three-hour hearing had a different
perspective. Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Debbie Field interrupted
whenever one of those testifying started talking about it.
To read the entire article:
http://capwiz.com/fof/dbq/officials/
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COMING EVENTS
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February 11, 2004
Massachusetts State
Constitutional Convention on Marriage
Feb. 11, 2:00 P.M.
Take a stand for democracy and
marriage
Please call (617) 928-0800 for more
information on how you can help.
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February 28, 2004
Interfaith Conference on
Defending Marriage & the Family
Sponsored by Family Action Council International
Washington, DC
Please note: There is no charge for this conference;
however, space is
limited. Those who are seated for the afternoon session (1:00
p.m. - 5:00 p.m.)
will be assured seating for the evening session (7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.);
others will
be admitted only on a space-available basis.
For more information:
http://www.marriageconference.org
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March 29-31, 2004
World Congress of
Families III
Allan Carlson, Chair of the General
Secretariat, announced that
the World Congress of Families III will be held at the
spacious
Centro
Banamex convention center in Mexico City, March 29-31, 2004.
For more information:
http://www.worldcongress.org/WCF3/wcf3_home.htm
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Note: The preceding excerpts are highlights of
current events and do not
necessarily represent the views of the World Family Policy Center
or Brigham Young University.
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Newsletter created and distributed by:
World Family Policy Center
J. Reuben Clark Law School
Brigham Young University
Managing Director: Richard Wilkins
Executive Director: A. Scott
Loveless
Newsletter Editors: Gary B. Lundberg and Joy S.
Lundberg
If you have any articles, editorials,
or papers you would like
circulated through the WFPC News network, you may submit them to
lundberg@lawgate.byu.edu
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