By Christy Barritt

Children of Homosexual Parents Deal with Social Issues

Children raised by homosexual parents are more likely than peers raised by married heterosexual parents to suffer from a host of social problems.

That’s the result of a new study published in the journal Social Science Research.

The data came from the New Family Structures Study, led by Mark Regnerus at the University of Texas at Austin, and seems to dispute earlier studies that showed children of homosexual couples experienced no social disadvantages whatsoever.

The social problems children of homosexual parents tend to experience include more depression, ill health, unemployment, infidelity, drug use, trouble with the law, and unhappy childhood memories.

The study consisted of 2,988 people between the ages of 18 and 29, including 175 adults raised by lesbian mothers and 73 raised by gay fathers.

140 Christian Leaders Push for Immigration Reform

Evangelical leaders joined together in June to address policy issues regarding immigration reform.

The group calls themselves the “Evangelical Immigration Table,” and they cite a biblical call to protect the stranger living in a foreign land. Their statement on immigration reform was signed by 140 evangelical leaders. The group consists of members from across the political spectrum, from conservative Baptists to progressive Sojourners. 

The group calls for a plan that respects the God-given dignity of every person, protects the unity of the immediate family, respects the rule of law, guarantees secure national borders, ensures fairness to taxpayers, and establishes a path toward legal status and citizenship for those who qualify and who wish to become permanent residents.

For more information, visit their website.

Religious Liberty Measure Defeated in North Dakota

Measure 3 in North Dakota was defeated by voters in June by a nearly two-to-one margin.

The measure, also known as the Religious Freedom Amendment, would have offered protections for those choosing to exercise deeply-held religious beliefs, and would have restricted the government’s ability to force individuals to violate their consciences.

Many churches and other religious organizations in the state were supportive of the law, while other groups, such as Planned Parenthood, fought against it.

If Measure 3 had passed, North Dakota would have joined 12 states that already have passed religious liberty laws: Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

E-Readers on the Rise

Twenty-one percent of adults have read an e-book in the past year.

The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project showed that books are being read across the country through an array of devices, including smartphones, tablet computers, and e-readers.

Eighty-eight percent of those who read an e-book in the past year also read a print book. Overall, in the past year, 72 percent of adults read a print book compared to the 21 percent who read an e-book and 11 percent who listened to an audiobook.

Other results from the study showed that there are four times more people reading e-books today than there were two years ago.

Christy Barritt is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and speaker living in Chesapeake, Virginia. She and her husband Scott have two sons. 
www.christybarritt.com