Hey single ladies. You really need to put a ring on it because trust fund baby and famous "dick" Tucker Carlson is REALLY upset about the decline in marriage rates. And if you're not in a state of nuptial bliss, don't even think about having children because, according to Tucker Carlson, you're being irresponsible. In September, Carlson's 50's world view was knocked down by a sociologist and since then, Tucker has doubled down on his position in saying that marriage (and we assume he means heterosexual) is so vital that the President should be promoting it. Tucker's (and the religious right's) concern about the decline of traditional families was advanced on this morning's Fox & Friends which featured hate group leader Tony Perkins talking about how kids do best with a mother and father and anything else is a degenerate drag on civilization. Devout Christian and happily, heterosexually married Tucker Carlson agreed.
Carlson reported on a recent Vatican conference on marriage which was attended by "faith leaders" from various countries and religious traditions. Carlson added that "while some expected the Pope to soften his stance on marriage, our next guest says that was not the case." He introduced his guest, Tony Perkins, head of the SPLC designated homophobic hate group "The Family Research Council who attended the conference along with other not so distinguished "anti-gay religious crusaders" such as with folks from the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage and Prop 8 activist and Huckabee pal, Jim Garlow. Perkins has described the conference as a "clarion call against same sex marriage." (So any talk about that Marxist Pope getting squishy on teh gay is a bit premature!)
After introducing Perkins, who thinks that same sex marriage is "unnatural," Carlson asked Perkins if Pope Francis views, which some consider to be modern, have changed with regard to marriage. Perkins said that he didn't think that was the case because the Pope believes that children have "the right" to grow up with a father and mother, although "all humans have dignity." (Cept if you're part of the LGBT community!)
Carlson, who thinks that unmarried women who have children are "negligent" sluts lamented that in this country "the numbers are really depressing and getting worse, we're moving to 50% of kids being born out of wedlock and the consequences are poverty among many, many others." He asked Perkins what the Catholic Church and the religious right can do to "encourage people to get married before they have kids."
Perkins said it was a "great question" and the reason why he got involved in public policy at which point he lobbied for the first "covenant marriage law." (Covenant marriage is a way to make it harder for a couple to get divorced because Jesus). Perkins claimed that "marriage and family are in crisis." He recommended that as a society we guarantee that children grow up in "the best environment" - no, not an environment where parents are able to make more than the minimum wage and have the money to provide for the kids quality of life and the education - no, not an environment which is free of carbon pollution - no, not an environment in which all the family members receive quality health care - but - wait for it - "a mom and a dad."
Perkins continued to blither about the awesomeness of a family with a mother and father, a man and a woman and how that benefits society. After Perkins cited "the early teachings of the church," he said that other religious traditions also have "a common understanding of what marriage is because it's rooted in nature, it's rooted in the order of creation." Carlson agreed. Perkins explained that the Vatican's call was for "religious leaders to lead out on this and to uphold that standard and ideal of marriage even though we may fall short from time to time." Carlson: "exactly, it's the basis of all civilization, thanks for reminding us of that." (I would say dairy products but that's just me...)
Gotta love those Fox family values....