Millennial Support for Marriage is #NotDeadYet

The media loves a “narrative,” the familiar storyline they tell and tell again. And in light of yesterday’s deeply disappointing Supreme Court decisions regarding marriage, one such narrative that we see again and again is that the younger crowd, the millennial generation, doesn’t care about preserving marriage. If you’re a believer in natural marriage, that’s a tough thing to swallow. Fortunately, however, that’s not the complete picture.

Millions of teens and twenty-somethings are standing firm for marriage. Among them are the brightest young men and women we welcome each year to our Focus Leadership Institute, where they learn about Christian worldview and God’s design for marriage and family. We have millennials on staff who passionately articulate why children do best when raised by their married moms and dads. We’re also heartened to see young people in other organizations do the same – and I’d like to introduce you to a two of those millennials who are doing their part to stand for marriage.

Ryan Anderson and Andrew Walker both work at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., that, among other things, makes the case for marriage. They were recently featured in The New York Times article, Young Opponents of Gay Marriage Undaunted by Battle Ahead. They’ve also recently contributed an article to our very own Citizen Magazine, which focuses on policy issues, about the same topic. You can read the piece, Refusing to Stay Silent: A Millennial Case for Marriage, online.

Here’s an excerpt from the article.

"It’s not accurate to say the times have relegated the defense of marriage to the geriatric ward. And there’s no such thing as being on the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ side of history. There’s only being on the right or wrong side of truth. What’s next on the marriage front? Americans committed to marriage coming out of the shadows. Moving forward to rebuild marriage begins with refusing to remain silent. Why? Because we cannot stay silent about the truth of what marriage is, and the manifold ways it builds the America we all long for."

I’d say that perspective is far from bleak – and what’s more, it’s the truth.

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