WASHINGTON, D.C., March 3, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) — Same-sex relationships aren't the only problems facing marriage in America, a panel of experts told a standing-room only crowd at CPAC.
Moderated by Kate Bryan of the American Principles Project, the 50-minute discussion included comments from Heather MacDonald of the Manhattan Institute, Jennifer Marshall of the Heritage Foundation, and former Bush official Wade Horn.
While same-sex “marriage” may dominate the media, the panelists largely focused on other issues. For example, while all the panelists praised single mothers who do their best to raise children well, they highlighted social science data noting that having both a mother and father in the home is the ideal.
The panelists also heavily criticized the sexual revolution. Marshall said that the decades-old movement “has made relationships between men and women much more challenging.” According to MacDonald, “feminists have taken over college campuses. They run the bureaucracy. People are losing the vocabulary to say fathers are essential.”
“I predict there’s going to come a time when Father’s Day is hate speech because you’re dissing a lesbian couple,” she said. The panel also discussed how a lack of fathers was hurting the youngest generation of Americans.
One of Horn's specific worries was marital success and children being born after wedlock. Horn acknowledged that “very early marriage is a high predictor for divorce,” but also noted that “delayed marriage can lead to a child born out of wedlock and cohabitation.” The latter are both common among divorcees.
“We don’t want 17 year-olds marrying,” said Horn, “but neither do we want them to wait till 30.”
Correction: This article originally stated that Heather MacDonald represents the Manhattan Project, but she is with the Manhattan Institute.
