Marriage

Conservative Christian leader Tony Perkins of Family Research Council in Washington said he is willing to dine at the home of a married lesbian couple, who expressed their desire to "open up his heart" to the love that is present in their family.

Perkins sent a statement to CNN on Monday which read, "My wife and I will be glad to respond when we receive the invitation to find a time that works."

The FRC head had received a dinner invitation from Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of a gay rights group called Family Equality Council, who is married to another woman and together have twin 10-year-old boys, with another child on the way. The invite was sent after Perkins indicated on CNN last week that he had never been to a married same-sex couple's home. more >>

A strong U.S. military depends on more than just high-tech equipment and highly trained soldiers; it also depends on soldiers having a stable marriage, according to military chaplains.

Strong Bonds is a program that began in Hawaii over a decade ago when a brigade chaplain and his commanders realized that soldiers needed a way to receive help with their marriages. Although it started at a grassroots level, Strong Bonds has helped over 160,000 soldiers and their family members through over 2,600 events last year.

"In order to have a strong army, we also need to have strong families," Lt. Col. Carleton Birch, a Strong Bonds chaplain and spokesperson, told CP. more >>

A military marriage is difficult to begin with, but having a spouse come home wounded from active duty adds incomprehensible strain. Operation Heal Our Patriots, a ministry of the Franklin-Graham-led Samaritan's Purse, will be the first program in the country to offer support for couples in such marriages.

The marriage enrichment program, featuring weeklong retreats to a remote, refurbished fishing camp in Alaska, begins next month with its first set of ten couples, each having a spouse with battle injuries – either visible or invisible.

"It's important that we are doing this now when the nation starts to focus on the winding down of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. These injuries that people are left with, whether they are visible injuries or the invisible injuries such as the PTSD or post-traumatic brain injury, these are going to continue for a long time," retired Marines Brigadier General Jim Walker told The Christian Post. more >>

Brazil has become the latest country to pave the way for same-sex marriage after it approved a measure on Thursday changing the legal definition of a "civil union" to simply be between two people, without making it exclusive to a man and a woman.

The measure passed the Brazilian senate, its first legislative step in congress, after the issue had been disputed for 16 years, the Associated Press reported.

The Senate still does not approve of gay marriage, but Brazil's judiciary has already moved toward legalizing same-sex marriages after state courts last year began allowing civil unions between homosexuals to be converted to full marriages. more >>

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will be honoring retiring member Rep. Barney Frank (Mass.) next week for the 25th anniversary of his "coming out of the closet" as an openly gay congressman.

The DCCC is organizing the fundraiser hosted by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the House Minority Leader, and DCCC Chairman Steve Israel (N.Y.) at a restaurant in Washington, D.C., according to USA Today. Tickets for the May 30 Democratic fundraising event start at $100 for individuals and go up to $5000 for PACs.

"Barney is an inspiration to all of us as one of the first openly gay congressmen to serve in the House," his openly gay colleague Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) wrote in an email sent by the DCCC. "This event will be particularly moving for me as it will be one of our last events with him before he retires this year." more >>

WASHINGTON – A "new rainbow coalition" made up of influential Christian pastors and leaders gathered on Capitol Hill Thursday afternoon to declare support for the traditional definition of marriage and the Defense of Marriage Act in response to President Obama's recent announcement that he supports same-sex marriage and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's support of repealing DOMA.

Organizer Bishop Harry R. Jackson. Jr., senior pastor of the 3,000-member Hope Christian Church in the Washington, D.C.-area, and other pastors described themselves as a "new rainbow coalition" in reference to the different races, denominations, and political parties they represent as they all come together to support traditional marriage between one man and one woman.

"We need to create a marriage culture in the church," said Jackson to The Christian Post after the press conference, noting that congregations need to strengthen and defend marriage from the many threats against it. more >>