Newspaper Reactions to California Marriage Cases

On May 15th, the California Supreme Court struck down Proposition 22, passed by 61 percent of California voters in 2000, and issued a ruling that civil unions were not sufficient. How have Americans responded? We looked at one potentially influential indicator—editorials in major newspapers across the country—and find a surprisingly ambivalent response.

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American Courts On Marriage: Is Marriage Discriminatory? 1998-2008

On May 15, 2008 the California Supreme Court overruled Proposition 22 which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. California thus joins Massachusetts as the only other court to hold that marriage constitutes discrimination in the U.S.

This new policy brief surveys court decisions on marriage from the past ten years, finding that nine state and federal courts, as well as three international courts, have upheld marriage laws against claims of discrimination, while courts in Massachusetts and California have struck down the marriage laws.

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The Taxpayer Costs of Divorce and Unwed Childbearing: First-Ever Estimates for the Nation and All Fifty States

Ben Scafidi, Principal Investigator

This new report offers the first serious effort to quantify the impact of divorce and unwed childbearing on federal, state, and local governmental budgets. Based on existing data showing a relationship between family fragmentation and poverty, the study conservatively estimates that family fragmentation costs U.S. taxpayers a total of at least $112 billion per year, including $70.1 billion at the federal level. These costs arise from increased taxpayer expenditures for antipoverty, criminal justice, and education programs, as well as through lower tax receipts.

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Watch the press conference at the National Press Club, April 15, 2008

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Pope Benedict XVI on Marriage: A Compendium

A new analysis published on the eve of Pope Benedict's historic U.S. visit, finds that in less than three years of his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI has spoken publicly about marriage on 111 occasions, connecting marriage to such overarching themes as human rights, world peace, and the conversation between faith and reason.

"Over and over again he has made it clear that the marriage and family debate is central--not peripheral--to understanding the human person, and defending our human dignity," says Maggie Gallagher, president of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy.

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