You’re Invited….

…to attend the Values Voter Summit: 2008.  Join thousands of others from around the country who are working to defend life, marriage, and religious freedom.  Hear our leaders discuss the future of the family and its role in society.

The Values Voter Summit is sponsored by FRCAction, Focus on the Family Action, the Alliance Defense Fund, American Values, and the High Impact Leadership Coalition.  To learn more, visit the Values Voter Summit website.  You can also watch a video of highlights from last year.

And, if you hurry, you can get an early bird discount.  No, I mean really hurry - you have until May 15 to save $25!  If you are serious about making an impact for the family, register to attend this event today!  You will not be disappointed.

National Day of Prayer

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” - Colossians 4:2

Today is the National Day of Prayer. I invite you to spend time today praying for our community, state, and national leaders.

God has seen fit to put you and I under the authority of government, asking us only to submit to their leadership, and support them in steadfast prayer.

Let your prayers be guided by the following:

• Thank God for the freedoms He provides to us through government.
• Pray for the protection of the lives of our government officials.
• Pray to encourage the marriages of those holding public office.
• Pray that our leaders will be encouraged to worship freely.
• Pray for our President, Senators, Congressman, and Congresswomen as they develop policies to guide this nation.
• Pray for our Governor, State Senators, Delegates, and local leaders as they lead our state.

To find a National Day of Prayer event near you, click here. To read President Bush’s proclamation, click here.

Join the Virtual National Day of Prayer celebration by leaving your prayer for our state and nation in the comment section below.

Defend our Communities

The Charleston Daily Mail reports today that the owner (a non-resident of WV) of “Southern Xposure,” a sexually oriented business widely advertised along West Virginia’s interstate system, has purchased a strip club in downtown Charleston.

While this would normally be ho-hum news, what is interesting about the report is the following:

He [Mayor Danny Jones] said grandfather laws allow the club to run. Because the strip club at that location precedes the zoning laws that outlaw such clubs in the city, the club can remain.

Did you catch that? Today, it is virtually impossible for a strip club to open in downtown Charleston, WV. Zoning laws have effectively prevented new adult businesses from operating. While we applaud the application of these laws as to new sexually oriented businesses, this demonstrates precisely why zoning is insufficient to fully protect the health, safety, and welfare of our cities.

West Virginia currently has exactly 3 laws on the books regarding strip clubs. Actually, it is more like 2, since there is a variance only by degree.

First, West Virginia regulates the liquor license of these businesses. Strip clubs are required to apply for and obtain a liquor license in order to operate and distribute alcohol during the business. This license carries a low-annual fee to be paid by the proprietor, but does little more than give something akin to a business license.

Second (and third), current West Virginia law kicks any other regulation of this industry to the local level. That is, it provides that county commissions and city councils are permitted to zone their area of jurisdiction appropriately, keeping these types of businesses away from churches, schools, or other areas desirous of protection.

That’s it.

During the 2008 legislative session, The Family Policy Council of WV worked with Senators to introduce S.B. 695, The West Virginia Community Defense Act (WVCDA). The WVCDA would have made a significant impact in protecting our communities from the secondary affects of sexually oriented businesses (including strip clubs and other adult businesses).

Under the WVCDA, the time, place, and manner under which sexually oriented businesses operated. By requiring a “buffer zone” between patrons and dancers, the WVCDA would have done much to protect the employees of these establishments - who report some level of abuse (links to PDF. scroll to p. 7 for data) on a routine basis.

It would have regulated the hours of operation. Currently, strip clubs (and other adult businesses) can operate in West Virginia 24/7. Under the WVCDA, sexually oriented businesses would have been forced to shut down during the peak crime hours of midnight to six A.M. This regulation would do much in and of itself to prevent the myriad reported cases of crimes surrounding these establishments from occurring.

In short, the WVCDA would do much to regulate these undesirable businesses (usually operated by out-of-state owners) by focusing more on the secondary affects such businesses have upon the community (increased crime, property blight, spread of disease, etc.) and less on the activity behind blacked out windows.

Without the WVCDA, sexually oriented businesses throughout WV will be permitted to operate in spite of restrictive zoning ordinances because of “grandfathering” and other loopholes.

Encourage the Delegate and Senator receiving your vote: regulate the secondary effects sexually oriented businesses force upon West Virginia communities in 2009 by passing the WVCDA.

Good Marriage = Good Health

A less-than-earth-shattering report out today suggests that happy marriages have husbands and wives with lower blood pressure, while those classifying their marriages as “unhappy” have increased blood pressure - higher than that of singles!

While the report admits that it is far from conclusive, the initial findings are of interest.  Said the news report: 

Analysis found that the more marital satisfaction and adjustment spouses reported, the lower their average blood pressure was over the 24 hours and during the daytime.  But spouses who scored low in marital satisfaction had higher average blood pressure than single people did.

More study is clearly need, if for no other reason than to remove much of the subjectivity inherent in this study.  The study suggests blood pressure in unhappy marriages is worse than being single, but it says nothing about blood pressure in good marriages vs. singles.  The implication is that those in good marriages are more healthy (in terms of blood pressure, anyway) than those who are unmarried. Still, one result ought to be potently clear:  good marriages mean good health.  

Such a result ought to motivate us, our leaders, and our society to encourage marriages to be “good” by any means necessary.  

More than that, if the implication be true, we ought to work very closely with the single community, helping them identify the person they choose for a mate.  Evidently, the decision will affect not only their happiness, but their overall heart-health.

Perhaps all the talk of nationalizing health care or increases in health insurance costs could be reduced if only we, as a society, worked to make marriages strong.    

Huh?

We are not inclined to criticize the Charleston Gazette very often.  After all, they are kind enough to publish several of the op-ed’s we have submitted.  Besides, like them or hate them, they are the largest newspaper in West Virginia.But, in light of the Family Voice post yesterday, we found today’s editorial interesting.  

What was interesting to me was not that the Gazette has now managed to squeeze the words “fundamentalist” and “puritanical” into at least 4 editorials over the past 2 weeks.  What was interesting was this conclusory line:

In addition to abstinence lectures, youths need practical, commonsense, matter-of-fact instruction about birth control and disease prevention.

Much could be made of this line, I suppose.  First, the obvious irony is that IF we as parents managed to instruct our youths to abstain until marriage, both the teen pregnancy rate and percentage of sexually transmitted diseases would plummet.  This, of course, would also require that parents, rather than professional educators and government social workers, assume the lion’s share of the sex education of their children.   

Second, if we as a society would treat the act of sex as something to be treasured, rather something to be shared as casually as a handshake, perhaps we would see a growing reluctance in teens toward premarital sex.

But, I rather like that the author of that op-ed chose the word “commonsense” to describe the type of instruction needed to lower teen pregnancy and the spread of STD’s.  Perhaps a simple syllogism will illustrate just how commonsense abstinence is for both of those issues.

STD’s are contracted by having sex with more than one partner.  Abstinence means having no sex until doing so only with one’s spouse.  Therefore, if one practices abstinence, one cannot contract an STD.

Teen pregnancy results from teens having sex.  Abstinence means having no sex until doing so only with one’s spouse.  Therefore, those teens who abstain will not have a teen pregnancy. 

What could be more commonsense about that? 

The View from the Back of the Bus

By now, most of us are aware of the California judge’s ruling that, “parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children.”  

I agree.

Now, before you misunderstand me, let me qualify my agreement: I agree that parents in California (or any other state, for that matter) do not have aconstitutional right to home school their children; I believe they have a fundamental right to determine the upbringing of their children - including educational choices.  

Our society was founded upon the principle that our rights were “endowed to us by our Creator.”  Government gets what we were endowed with only by “the consent of the governed.”  Sadly, much of our culture has forgotten that our rights were given to us “unalienably” - by no man given, by no man can they be taken.  

The decision by this California-dreamin’ judge worries so many of our families, not necessarily because of the implications it could have upon home schooling (though worthy and valid), but because parents have been forcibly shoved one seat further back in the bus, while government wrests the controls as the “experts” in the rearing of our families.  

We do not disagree that our children ought to be educated by qualified individuals.  We simply disagree on who decides who is qualified.  When professional educators substitute their own agenda for what is best for the family, it is our children who suffer. 

For even better articulation of this issue, see Albert Mohler’s blog entry from last Friday.   

Welcome

In an effort to remain connected to as many of its partners as possible, the West Virgnia Values Coalition has established a blog presence. On this blog, contributors to the West Virginia Values Coalition will offer insight and analysis on issues facing West Virginia’s families today. During the legislative session, a review of the past week’s introduction and activity of legislation affecting the core values (life, marriage, and religious freedom) of the West Virginia Values Coalition will be posted weekly on this blog.

The purpose of this blog is to foster further discussion about issues concerning West Virginia’s families today. Readers are encouraged to share their comments and provide further input on these important issues.

Family Voice is a ministry of the West Virginia Values Coalition, a nonprofit research and education organization dedicated to standing for the Truth for the advancement of the family in West Virginia. Donate online at www.wvfpc.org.