ࡱ> wyvM %bjbj== (TWWQrl>>>.l$8 h4h"pnnIII3333333$5 7 4IIIII 4nn"4I@nn3I3rU#r.T/n mm.//840h4-/88/ Marriage Protection Weekend Do its Supporters Really Focus on Strengthening Marriage? An Analysis of the Family Institute of Connecticut  February 8, 2004 Researched and compiled by: Betsy Golden Love Makes a Family, Inc. 44 Wright Drive Avon, CT 06001 860-674-8942  HYPERLINK "http://www.lmfct.org" http://www.lmfct.org Introduction February 7th, 2004, will mark the observance of a Marriage Protection Weekend in Connecticut. This comes on the heels of a similar national occasion in October 2003, at which time President Bush offered support for Marriage Protection Week. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) released a report on the occasion of Marriage Protection Week in 2003, examining the content of the websites of the weeks leading sponsors (among them such groups as Focus on the Family and the American Family Association). NGLTF assessed the sponsors sites, looking at the organizations actual focus on marriage and family issues. The report demonstrated that so-called family organizations disproportionately focus on same-sex issues and do so to the detriment of activities that would work in line with the stated purpose of marriage protection. Considering NGLTFs findings on the national level and of heightened national attention to the issue of equal marriage rights (especially in light of the November 2003 Massachusetts SJC ruling in favor of the right of same-sex couples to marry), the question emerges as to whether the same disproportionate focus on same-sex issues is true of state-based family organizations. This report will follow some of NGLTFs methodology to demonstrate that Connecticuts leading family group and the lead sponsor of Marriage Protection Weekendthe Family Institute of Connecticutlikewise brings its resources to bear on homosexuality over other relevant and pressing family issues. I. Web site content favors coverage of homosexuality and marriage for same-sex couples over other issues relevant to the Connecticut family, many of them referred to in the Family Institutes mission statement. The Family Institute of Connecticut states its mission as: To encourage and strengthen the family as the foundation of society and to promote sound, ethical and moral values in our culture and government. The groups appraisal of statewide family problems looks to education, racial discord, poverty, broken families, the illegitimacy rate, single parenthood, teen suicide rates, rape and child abuse. Stated public policy positions encompass issues such as abortion, child care, marriage and divorce prevention, education and family structure. It should logically follow from these statements that the Institute would focus its attention and resources on repairing the damage these negative factors have on family integrity and the divorce rate. Content analysis demonstrates otherwise. Running a sample search of some 85 documents on the Family Institute of Connecticuts web site during the first week of February shows a disproportionate focus on same-sex issues in spite of the Institutes broadly-stated goals. Web resources are not in reality devoted to the aforementioned issues, which have substantive and negative impact upon the American family, but overwhelmingly to the issues of homosexuality and marriage rights for same-sex couples as a primary threat to the traditional family. A. Sample search of documents on Family Institute web site Search term# of documents with termCommentsSame-sex44Gay20Homosexual17Education32, including: Public education 2 Marriage education 3 Sex education 3 Divorce education 3Public schools 4Divorce27Often in re: same-sex issues.Abortion10Counseling8Poverty8Child abuse4One hit refers to same-sex adoption as blatant child abuse.Child support3Health care2Domestic violence2Teen suicide1Only referred to in statement of purpose.Health insurance1Refers to same-sex marriage to obtain benefits.Premarital counseling1 * Some goals and interests are referred to in statements of intent and nowhere else on the site. B. Analysis of posted editorials on Family Institute web site The site posts 31 editorials gathered from throughout the Web and various publications (two links are currently broken, or the total would be 33). Of these, the majority (and the ten most recent) focus on LGBT (lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender) issues, primarily in opposition to equal marriage rights: Issue treatedNumber of articlesCommentsLGBT issues 17Family issues 6Issues include teen pregnancy, fatherhood and the Bush marriage initiativeCloning/bioethics2The Pledge of Allegiance1Terrorism1Poverty1Welfare reform1Hartford education1At-home parenting1 II. While the goal of Marriage Protection Weekend is to strengthen families in and through marriage, the Family Institutes web site shows no actual, substantive focus on marriage protection. The Institutes web site suggests that the only thing needed to protect marriage is the rejection of the rights of same-sex couples. The Marriage Protection Action Center provided by the Institute in promotion of Marriage Protection Weekend is devoted exclusively to gay issues. The site links to editorials against equal marriage, a rally flier, a brochure that refers to LGBT advocates as radical activists, a sample sermon for pastors, and a guide entitled The Case For Same-Sex Marriage in Connecticut. Nowhere does the site mention marriage counseling (for married or prospective couples), risk factors for divorce such as family income, work status and quality education, or any other issue that addresses the integrity and longevity of married relationships. The sample sermon provided by the Institute shows an unwillingness to focus on extant issues affecting marriage in Connecticut. Though the sermon outlines the prevalence of divorce in our society and refers to a societal increase in premarital sex, infidelity, cohabitation and promiscuity, the bulk of the text does not address the reasons for the rise in these behaviors and their possible solutions. Rather, it is devoted to the idea that marriage rights should not be extended to homosexuals. Five of eight exhortations to readers and listeners ask them to oppose marriage rights for same-sex couples in one form or another: they are urged to fight for Defense of Marriage Acts, constitutional amendments to define marriage as being limited to one man and one woman, and to actively oppose and vote against candidates who refuse to defend the definition and institution of marriage. The Case For Same-Sex Marriage in Connecticut demonstrates inaccuracy and insensitivity when discussing homosexuality. Not only are there factual errors, the report goes beyond simple analysis and employs diminishing generalizations in characterizing homosexual relationships. Only one page in a 23-page report focuses on suggested action to strengthen the family through premarital counseling and covenant marriage, which waives a couples right to a no-fault divorce. Based on its most public face to the community its web site the Connecticut Family Institute is not living up to the promise of its stated purposes. Instead of being directed at the wealth of problems facing Connecticut families, these resources are highly focused on mobilizing readers to support Marriage Protection Weekend and to push for the passage of a Defense of Marriage Act.  Report of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Marriage Protection Week Sponsors: Are They Really Interested in Building Strong and Healthy Marriages? Available for download from  HYPERLINK "http://www.ngltf.org" http://www.ngltf.org.  Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, 2003 WL 22701313 (Mass.).  Family Institute of CT homepage, at  HYPERLINK "http://www.ctfamily.org" http://www.ctfamily.org.  The Crisis,  HYPERLINK "http://www.ctfamily.org/crisis.html" http://www.ctfamily.org/crisis.html.  Our Public Policy Positions, at  HYPERLINK "http://www.ctfamily.org.solutions.html" http://www.ctfamily.org.solutions.html.  Available from the Family Institutes web site at  HYPERLINK "http://www.ctfamily.org" http://www.ctfamily.org.  Available at  HYPERLINK "http://ww.ctfamily.org/mpac.html" http://ww.ctfamily.org/mpac.html. 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