var addthis_config = {“data_track_addressbar”:true};Tony Perkins is the head of the Family Research Council, a certified anti-gay hate group whose clear mission is the destruction of civil rights for LGBT people. The Family Research Council also has its own “think tank,” the Marriage and Religion Research Institute (MARRI), which “examines the relationships among family, marriage, religion, community, and America’s social problems, as illustrated in the social science data.”
Perkins yesterday touted the release of his think tank’s “4th Annual Index of Family Belonging.”
He writes that his “Index, which is derived from our analysis of Census Bureau data, looks at 15- to 17- year olds in the U.S. The research proves what we all know in our hearts: When couples are united, children thrive. The child is as strong as the relationship between his mother and father or as conflicted as the relationship between them is conflicted.”
And he was forced to admit, “Regionally, the Northeast (50%) has the highest Family Belonging Index and the South (42%) has the lowest, with the following in between: Midwest: 48% and the West: 47%.”
Every state in the Northeast, sans Pennsylvania, has extended marriage to same-sex couples.
Oops.
So, clearly, states that have extended marriage to same-sex couples have — at least using Perkins’ formula and definition — stronger families.
Oops.
Using Perkins’ research, you can see that overall across all U.S. states, the numbers range from Utah at 57 to Washington, D.C., an anomaly, at 17.
Digging a bit deeper, here’s a list of all the states across the U.S. that have same-sex marriage, and Tony Perkins’ “Family Belonging Index” number. Remember, the higher the number, the stronger the family — at least according to Perkins:
California: 47
Connecticut: 51
Delaware: 42
Hawaii: 50
Illinois: 49
Iowa: 51
Maine: 45
Maryland: 46
Massachusetts: 52
Minnesota: 56
New Hampshire: 53
New Jersey: 54
New Mexico: 39
New York: 48
Rhode Island: 44
Vermont: 49
Washington: 48
Washington, D.C.: 17
So, when will Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council admit that states that extend marriage to same-sex couple actually foster and support stronger families? His own research certainly seems to say so.
One last important note: We believe FRC’s claim that every child needs a mom and a dad is false. We believe children need loving parents, and that the composition of a strong family can vary tremendously. To claim that, for example, a highly-conflicted family where the parents are married and living together but fight constantly and emotionally harm their children is a stronger family than one in which a single parent is raising children in a loving environment is hogwash. Likewise, there are plenty of same-sex couples — married or not — raising children in strong and loving, successful households. It’s a pity that the Family Research Council is unable to actually respect all of America’s diverse yet successful, loving, productive families, or to work to help those in need.