An Up Close Look at the Hate-Fueled Funders Behind Prop. 8

Posted by tristero, Hullabaloo at 8:13 AM on October 28, 2008.

In a previous post on the anti-marriage initiative in California called Proposition 8 (aka Prop Hate), I discussed one funder of this hateful proposal, the odious Howard Ahmanson, a well-known christianist extremist.

Now, here's another, the less-well-known Vineyard Group of Mesa, AZ who donated $35,000 to the National Organization for Marriage of Princeton, NJ, one of the prime movers behind Prop Hate. (Email me if you need back up for this).

Turns out that Broc Hiatt of the Vineyard Group is a director of the Institute for American Values, a think tank that runs websites like The Happiest Wives where we learn that, among other things, "a breadwinning husband," wives "who stay at home," and "shared religious attendance" make for Stepford contented wives. Perhaps the oddest criteria for happy wives, however, is "traditional gender attitudes:"

Wives who hold more traditional gender attitudes--e.g., who believe that wives should focus more on nurturing/homemaking and husbands should focus more on breadwinning--are happier than wives who hold more feminist attitudes. One reason this may be the case is that traditional-minded wives probably have lower expectations of what their husbands can and should do for them emotionally and practically. We also find that more traditional-minded wives spend more quality time with their husbands, perhaps because they are less likely to argue with their husbands about housework and childcare.

There are racial differences in the consequences of marriage. All in all, Black women appear to receive a smaller marriage premium than White women. Black men appear to receive a smaller marriage premium only in terms of their satisfaction with family life. A major reason for these differentials is that marriages of African Americans are, on average, of lower quality than those of Whites.

Our research finds that marriage brings small health benefits to black men -- and none to black women. In fact, married black women are significantly less likely to report having excellent health than are unmarried black women.

On average, married African Americans are wealthier, happier, and choose healthier behaviors than their unmarried peers, and their children typically fare better in life--differences that indeed seem to stem largely from marriage itself.

Policies seeking to increase marriage rates and marital quality among African Americans should focus on tax reform, reducing domestic violence, providing culturally-relevant marital education and counseling, and numerous other efforts outlined in the report.

AlterNet is a nonprofit organization and does not make political endorsements. The opinions expressed by its writers are their own.

Tagged as: california, church and state, prop 8