FRC's Tony Perkins: 'State of Our Union Only As Strong as State of Our Family'

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Jan 19, 2015, 08:05 ET

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tonight, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins delivered an address on the "State of the Family." In a first-of-its-kind "State of the Family" report to the nation, the speech highlighted key issues of concern and policy solutions in the areas of the protection of human life, marriage, and religious liberty.

The following is an excerpt of Mr. Perkins' "State of the Family" address:

"Tomorrow night President Barack Obama will speak to Congress in the annual State of the Union Address. While this traditional speech focuses on the year past as well as the President's proposals for the coming year, it's fitting that we also use this occasion to discuss topics that are perennial and even a few that are eternal.

"When someone we love is in trouble, we do all we can to help. That's true for families and for good friends. And tonight, it's true for our country. The state of our union is only as strong as the state of our family. So this evening, I want to address the state of faith, family, and freedom in America. These are issues of great importance, as their impact goes beyond today's economy or the next election. They will determine our future and our children's future.

"The issue that weighs especially on my heart tonight is that of religious liberty—the freedom that every American has been endowed with by our Creator—to acknowledge the divine Author of our liberties and to live in accordance with His precepts, as we understand them. Tonight, in the United States of America, the consensus about religious liberty that we have long enjoyed is being chipped away at with each rap of the gavel of an activist judge or human rights tribunal. In the examples that follow, and in the people you will meet tonight, that growing indifference and even hostility toward religion, at the hands of our own government and the pain it is inflicting, will be obvious.

"But let me make one thing plain at the outset. While we must truthfully acknowledge and address the problems facing our nation, we must still celebrate the vast blessings that arise from our freedoms and the ability we maintain to preserve those blessings not only for this generation but for those generations yet to come," Perkins stated.

The full text of the speech can be found here: frc.org/sotf2015

SOURCE Family Research Council