"Three Things to Do to Strengthen Marriage in Policy and Practice"

Last August, Ryan T. Anderson of the Heritage Foundation (and co-author of What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense) wrote a nice piece about the Supreme Court and the future of marriage. His concluding section provided three things we can do to strengthen marriage in policy and practice. I quote from his post:

1. Live Out the Truth. Long before there was a debate about same-sex anything, far too many heterosexuals bought into a liberal ideology about sexuality that makes a mess of marriage: Cohabitation, no-fault divorce, extra-marital sex, non-marital childbearing, massive consumption of pornography and the hook-up culture all contributed to the breakdown of the marriage culture. At one point in American life, virtually every child was given the great gift of being raised to adulthood by the man and the woman who gave them life. Today, that number is under 50 percent in many communities. 

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2. Protect Religious Liberty. When he “evolved” on marriage last year, President Obama insisted that the debate about marriage was a legitimate one, that there were reasonable people of good will on both sides. He explained that supporters of marriage “are not coming at it from a mean-spirited perspective. They’re coming at it because they care about families.” He added that “a bunch of ’em are friends of mine…you know, people who I deeply respect.” 

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Americans should insist that government not discriminate against those who hold to the historical definition of marriage. Policy should prohibit the government—or anyone who receives taxpayers’ dollars—from discriminating in employment, licensing, accreditation, or contracting against those who believe that marriage is the union of a man and a woman. 

3. Make the Public Argument. Americans need to redouble their efforts at explaining what marriage is, why marriage matters, and what the consequences are of redefining marriage. Defenders of marriage need to frame their messages, strengthen coalitions, devise strategies, and bear witness. They should develop and multiply artistic, pastoral, and reasoned defenses of the conjugal view as the truth about marriage, and to make ever plainer the policy reasons for enacting it.

Well said. Reasonable and civil. A lengthier defense of marriage can be found in the aforementioned book, What Is Marriage? Full post here.