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Sweden has been successful in moving prostitution off the
streets by penalizing the customers. But there is evidence that the business is
still booming on a global level due to the internet. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
Children are taking a back seat in perceptions of marriage's
purpose. Since 1990, the percentage of people who said children were very
important to a successful marriage tumbled from 65 percent to 41 percent. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
The House extended the federal hate crime law to ban those
violent acts committed on people based on their gender or sexual orientation.
The House passed the bill by 237 to 180 to include crimes that initiate
violence because of a “gender, sexual orientation or gender identity.”
Indications are that the measure will be vetoed. See story from Earth
Times See vote
"Don't ask, don't tell" – the 14-year-old policy
that keeps openly declared gays from serving in the military – is coming under
new scrutiny. Overturning it remains an unlikely prospect in the near term,
given the political explosiveness of the issue. But the needs of war – and a
fresh push by gay advocates in the courts and Congress – is pushing the policy
back into the limelight. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
To bust child-porn rings, a larger role sought for Internet
service providers . See story
from Christian Science Monitor
Only about a third of gay, lesbian, and bisexual teens
involved in a recent study said they tell their doctors about their sexual
orientation. See
story from UPI
A new RAND Corporation study presents the strongest evidence
yet that sexually degrading lyrics in music encourage adolescents to more
quickly initiate sexual intercourse and other sexual activities. See
story from All American Patriots.com
A new study presents the strongest evidence yet that
sexually degrading lyrics in music encourage adolescents to more quickly
initiate sexual intercourse and other sexual activities. The study found that
the more time adolescents spend listening to music with sexually degrading
lyrics, the more likely they are to initiate intercourse and other sexual
activities. This holds true for boys and girls as well as for whites and
nonwhites, even after accounting for a wide range of other personal and social
factors associated with adolescent sexual behavior. See news release from Rand
Corporation
The House failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed to
advance a proposed constitutional amendment to outlaw same-sex marriages. The
Senate already had defeated the same measure. See vote
Public opinion on issues such as abortion and gay marriage
tends to differ from the polarized views commonly expressed in the media by
advocate groups. See story from
Pew Research Center
The Senate rejected a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, dealing a defeat to President Bush and Republicans who hope to use the measure to energize conservative voters on Election Day. See vote chart
Gay marriage is back in the political spotlight, as the Senate begins debate on a constitutional amendment banning it and President Bush speaks out on behalf of the measure. But from the outset, the outcome is nearly certain: There are probably not enough votes in the Senate to build the two-thirds majority needed to pass a constitutional amendment, members of both parties agree. And so, as debate began, analysts were hard put to see any other motive than political for putting the issue forward now. See story from Christian Science Monitor
The House approved an increase from $32,500 to $325,000 per violation in Federal Communications Commission fines on over-the-air broadcasters for airing indecent material. See vote chart
The prospect of a massive influx of prostitutes to Germany during this year's soccer world cup puts the spotlight on a worldwide blemish - the forced trafficking of women. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Several Christian and Jewish denominations have been divided over issues of homosexuality, but none has come as close to schism as the global Anglican community, and its US branch, the Episcopal Church. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Sex education, particularly to the extent that it addresses homosexual issues, has become a flash point among religious parents in many parts of the country. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Efforts to ban gays and lesbians from adopting children are emerging across the USA as a second front in the culture wars that began during the 2004 elections over same-sex marriage. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Hundreds of officers and health care professionals have been discharged in the past 10 years under the Pentagon's policy on gays, a loss that, while relatively small in numbers, involves troops who are expensive for the military to educate and train. See story from Associated Press
Britain is following the Scandinavian pattern of cracking down on street prostitution while tolerating more discreet operations. The policy reflects an underlying ambivalent public attitude. One the one hand there is greater permissiveness regarding sexual matters but many feel that the growing sex business dehumanizes women and encourages international trafficking. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Hundreds of gay couples are preparing to form civil partnerships in the coming weeks as the law changes after decades of campaigning. See story from BBC
For the first time in the nation's history, fewer than 25 percent of American households are made up of a married man and woman with children. See story from Voice of America
Television these days is loaded with sex, sex, sex - double the number of sex scenes aired seven years ago. And the number of shows that include "safer sex" messages has leveled off. See story from Associated Press
A record number of babies - nearly 1.5 million - were born to unmarried women in the U.S. last year. And those moms were more likely to be 20-somethings than teenagers. See story from USA Today
Americans are overwhelmingly people of faith, and a new survey shows they are holding onto a traditional ideal of marriage and family. Yet as fewer families meet that ideal, they are becoming more accepting of divorce, cohabitation, and nontraditional family situations - across religious groupings. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Kansas cannot punish illegal underage sex more harshly if it involves homosexual conduct, the state's highest court ruled unanimously in a case watched by national groups on both sides of the gay rights debate. See story from Associated Press
On October 1, 2005, Connecticut joined Vermont in awarding civil union licenses to same sex couples. But some gay couples will refuse to file for such a license, contending that nothing short of full marriage status is acceptable. See story from Gay365.com
U.S. teen pregnancy and birth rates have plummeted to all-time lows as more teenagers delay sex, abstain from it, use contraception and use it more effectively. Abortions also are down. The decline, to the lowest teen birth rates since national tallies began in 1940, is a remarkable personal health reform, sharper than U.S. declines in smoking or increases in seat-belt use. Counselors who work with teens cite many factors but give much credit to more cautious and assertive girls. See story from Knight Ridder
A new study provides evidence that stable marriages improve children's emotional, intellectual, and economic well-being, and that some well-designed marriage-promotion initiatives may benefit children and families. Children in two-parent families also tend to receive more effective parenting, are emotionally closer to both parents, are subjected to less stress, and have fewer social, and other developmental problems. The scant research on children in same-sex families finds that marriage benefits children by increasing material well-being and the stability of parents' relationships. See press release from Brookings Institute
More women - particularly those in their late teens and 20s - are experimenting with bisexuality or at least feel more comfortable reporting same-sex encounters, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. See story from Associated Press See study
Massachusetts legislators overwhelmingly rejected an attempt to halt same-sex marriages Wednesday -- showing how quickly gay nuptials have moved from being a court-ordered imposition to a powerful political cause. See story from Washington Post
Supporters of expanding hate crime law to include acts of violence against gays and lesbians scored a surprise win in the House, boosting their hopes on an issue repeatedly blocked in Congress. With the help of 30 Republicans, House Democrats on Wednesday pushed through a measure that would add sexual orientation, gender and disability to protections covered by federal hate crime law. Under current law, the federal government assists local and state authorities prosecuting limited types of crimes based on the victim's race, religion or ethnic background. See story from Fox News
Churches are beginning to react to the epidemic of pornography. Surveys show that 40 million Americans regularly view Internet pornography, which accounts for $2.5 billion of the $12 billion US porn industry. Some 25 percent of search-engine requests are porn-related; 20 percent of men and 13 percent of women admit accessing porn at work. For years, churches were in denial about the scope of the problem, but the toll on marriages, careers, and faith communities has grown, Christian leaders say. And it involves not only congregants, but pastors. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Despite highly publicized arrests, law-enforcement officials say that the sexual exploitation of children on the Internet is growing dramatically. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Despite the headlines, sex crimes against children have dropped dramatically in the last decade. . And recent research shows doctors can better predict which offenders may strike again. See story from USA Today
The recent action by the California legislature to approve gay marriage (a measure that will be vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger) is part of the national trend toward greater equality for same-sex couples that has been growing coast to coast for the past few years. In California, polls now show that the public is evenly split on the issue. See story from Christian Science Monitor
The Spanish parliament legalized gay marriage, defying conservatives and clergy who opposed making traditionally Roman Catholic Spain the third country to allow same-sex unions nationwide. See story from Associated Press
Canada's Parliament approved legislation to allow same sex marriages across the country, despite fierce opposition from conservative politicians and religious groups. Legislators voted by 158-133 to support the bill, which makes Canada only the third country in the world after Belgium and the Netherlands to permit gay marriages. Most Canadian provinces already allow same-sex marriages. See story from Canada.com
The House voted to ban Medicaid and Medicare coverage of impotence drugs such as Viagra but adoption by the Senate of the ban in the final health spending bill is questionable. Without the ban, the government is projected to spend $2 billion in the next 10 years on payments for Viagra, Levitra and Cialis, See story from FoxNews.com See vote
The United Church of Christ's rule-making body voted overwhelmingly Monday to approve a resolution endorsing same-sex marriage, making it the largest Christian denomination to do so. See story from Associated Press
One year after the institution of gay marriage in Massachusetts, the national debate on the issue is still fierce. In the past year, more than 6,100 same-sex couples have gotten married - one out of six marriage licenses issued in the state. Among the same-sex weddings, about two-thirds are female couples. Elsewhere, supporters and opponents of gay marriage are battling at the ballot box, in state legislatures and in courtrooms across the country. Eighteen states have adopted state constitutional amendments against same-sex marriages. But a federal judge struck down Nebraska's by saying it "goes far beyond merely defining marriage as between a man and a woman." Voters in three states - Alabama, South Dakota and Tennessee - will decide in 2006 whether to ban same-sex marriages. And legislatures in at least 13 other states are weighing similar amendments. A checkerboard of court decisions has affirmed and denied gay marriages. Judges in California, New York state and Washington state recently ruled that prohibiting same-sex marriage violates their state constitutions. But the Oregon Supreme Court ruled in April that 3,000 same-sex marriages performed last year were illegal. Two states have opted to legalize civil unions. Connecticut passed a civil unions law in April that goes into effect in October. Civil unions give same-sex couples the same benefits as married couples without marriage. Vermont has permitted civil unions since 2000 following a state Supreme Court ruling. See story from USA Today
The United States accused 14 nations of failing to do enough to stop the modern-day slave trade in prostitutes, child sex workers and forced laborers. The countries include Saudi Arabia, Washington's closest Arab ally in the war on terrorism. Three other U.S. allies in the Middle East - Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar - were newly listed this year as nations that are failing to adequately address trafficking problems. The State Department said the 14 countries could be subject to sanctions if they do not crack down. The other countries listed as poor performers in stopping trafficking are: Bolivia, Cambodia, Cuba, Ecuador, Jamaica, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan, Togo and Venezuela. See story from Associated Press
In numbers which far exceed similar events in the U.S. and elsewhere, almost 2 million gay men, lesbians, transvestites and their supporters - many in lavish Carnival costumes and waving rainbow-colored flags - paraded in Sao Paulo to celebrate gay pride and call for the legalization of civil unions between homosexuals. The parade's main theme was the legalization of civil unions in the South American country of 182 million. Civil unions between same-sex couples are permitted only in Brazil's southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul. See story from Associated Press
Senate Democrats, saying they are seeking common ground in the nation's divisive abortion debate, offered a pregnancy prevention measure in the Senate but it was defeated. Republicans objected to the measure because it would not fund "abstinence only" programs. See story from Reuters See vote
More instances are cropping up of pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions for oral contraceptives and the morning-after pill. Several states are taking legislative action in response. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Hundreds of highly skilled troops, including many translators, have left the armed forces because of the Pentagon's rules on gays, at a cost of nearly $200 million according to a new Congressional study. See story from Associated Press
Americans, and especially women, are three times more likely to suffer premature death and adverse health due to sexual activity than people in other rich nations according to a new study. See story from Reuters
Easy access to a "morning after pill" for contraception does not influence the degree to which women have unprotected sex, according to a new study. See story from CNN
The decline in marriages is associated with improving economic conditions and is likely to continue. As a result, government and private preferential treatment for married individuals will decrease. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Young Americans are less sexually active now than their counterparts of the mid-1990s and are using contraceptives more regularly, according to a new HHS study. See story from Agence Presse France
Same-sex marriage may have been trounced in the recent elections. But it is far from dead as a political and legal issue. Following November's clean sweep in 11 states, amendments banning gay marriage are likely to be on the ballot in at least a dozen more states in 2006. Some of the just-passed measures already are being challenged in court. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Comparing pornography to heroin, researchers called on Congress to finance studies on "porn addiction" and launch a public health campaign about the dangers. See story from Associated Press
"Protection of marriage" is now the watchword for many activists fighting to prevent gays and lesbians from marrying. Some conservatives, however, say marriage in America began unraveling long before the latest gay-rights push and are pleading for a fresh, soul- searching look at the institution. See story from Associated Press
A report issued by Congressman Henry Waxman says federally funded abstinence education programs that are used in 25 states contain false and misleading information about contraception, abortion and sexually transmitted diseases by underestimating the effectiveness of condoms in preventing pregnancy and the spread of disease, exaggerating the prevalence of emotional and physical distress following abortion, by blurring science and religion or by getting fundamental scientific facts wrong. See story from Alan Guttmacher Institute
The resounding "no" that voters gave to officially recognizing homosexual couples as married marks a major setback for the gay-marriage movement - and shows how the issue continues to divide the nation politically and geographically. See story from Christian Science Monitor
The House rejected a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The vote was 227-186, 49 votes shy of the two-thirds needed for approval of an amendment that President Bush backed but the Senate had previously scuttled. See story from Washington Post See vote
While neither George Bush nor John Kerry talks much about it, gay marriage may now rival gun control or abortion in how voters perceive - and are likely to vote for - the candidates. And in a very tight race this wedge issue could make the difference in key states where measures banning gay marriage are on the ballot; there are 11 such states, including such battleground states as Michigan, Ohio, and Oregon. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Although now banned in every country, slavery has boomed in the past 50 years as the global population has exploded. The most common type of slavery is debt bondage which traps 15 million to 20 million in loan agreements they can never pay off. The fastest growing type, however, is trafficking ("forcing and transporting people into slavery"). According to a Department of Justice report in June on human trafficking, 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across national borders each year (and millions more are trafficked within their own countries). Of those, about 80 percent are female, and an estimated 70 percent end up in the commercial sex trade, the report says. The United Nations estimates that the profits from human trafficking (about $9.5 billion last year) rank it among the top three revenue earners for organized crime, after drugs and arms. In 10 years, it's expected to be the top source of revenue. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Workers are stressed out and overwhelmed. Sandwiched between caring for children and parents, worrying about retirement, and making ends meet means employees constantly are on edge. Some experts believe that workplace stress is linked to double-digit increases employers' cost for health insurance costs. The American Institute of Stress estimates the cost of workplace stress to employers at more than $300 billion each year. That number includes both health care payments and missed work days. See story from PRWEB
The fallout from the Kobe Bryant rape case raises questions about the effectiveness of rape shield laws and about the cultural bias which exists regarding women who are sexually active outside of marriage. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Teenagers who watch a lot of television with sexual content are twice as likely to engage in intercourse than those who watch few such programs. Youths who watched large amounts of programming with sexual content were also more likely to initiate sexual activities short of intercourse, such as oral sex. The impact of television viewing is so large that even a moderate shift in the sexual content of adolescent TV watching could have a substantial effect on their sexual behavior. See story from Reuters
Modern life is stretching family law. US courts grapple with nontraditional custody issues. As courts grapple with evolving definitions of family, experts say the result is a growing foothold for relatively new legal principles: "de facto" and even "psychological" parenthood, and the importance of weighing the intent of those involved in a child's conception and birth. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Professionals in sex-related fields have started speaking out against what they say is growing interference from conservatives in and out of government with their work in research, education and disease prevention. See story from New York Times
One of the biggest benefits of gay marriage is the ability to obtain a clean divorce. Because their unions were not legally binding, gay couples have had few protections when they split and have had to rely on the inconsistent mercy of judges to obtain alimony, parental rights or a stake in the couple's finances. See story from Associated Press
The American public still opposes both same-sex marriages and a constitutional amendment that would prohibit states from legalizing them, the University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey shows. See summary of poll findings See chart
While many Christians are calling for tolerance, some evangelicals see homosexuality and same-sex marriage as an assault on the most sacred values of their religion. Nowhere has the opposition to gay marriage been more intense than in the South, where conservative Christian values are firmly ingrained. See story from Chicago Tribune
The study of a nationally representative sample of about 15,000 youths aged 12 to 18 found that 88 percent of teenagers who pledged to remain virgins until they are married ended up having sex before marriage. See story from Reuters
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