FW: Made for Love (MUR e-news) February 2019

February 2019 Continuing the U.S. Bishops' work of promoting and defending marriage. Visit our Website National Marriage Week February 7-14, 2019 The annual celebration of marriage that is National Marriage Week USA is February 7-14, 2019. This is an initiative celebrating the beauty and importance of marriage. This year at the USCCB we will be reflecting on the theme Marriage: Made for A Reason. There's a contest every day at For Your Marriage on Facebook. The Virtual Retreat is also happening! And on Friday, February 8, there will be a live Rosary for Families on Facebook from our chapel at the USCCB. And there will be another live event on Facebook with USCCB staff on February 13 at 2pm. The Dating Podcast: January 2019 To kick off 2019, January's "Made for Love" episodes were about Catholics in the dating world. January 1: The Dating Podcast: Young Adults This episode focuses on young adults and college students, featuring Dr. Kerry Cronin of "The Dating Project" fame. (Check out the trailer below!) January 4: The Dating Podcast: Healthy Habits This episode focuses on approaching dating in a healthy way. January 11: The Dating Podcast: Stories This episode features stories about dating-- successes and failures. February Episodes In February, the podcast will look at Pets and Family Life and The Five Love Languages. REMINDER: If you listen to "Made for Love" through iTunes, the podcast is now available under its own name (not only through USCCB Clips) and it would help a lot if you would leave a review! This should make it much easier for people to find, subscribe, and tell their friends. We also continue to be on Soundcloud and podbean. USCCB Action Center All the USCCB's action alerts for legislative priorities are available at one website. There you can contact your representatives and make your voice heard. Check it out! Legal/ Policy Updates Military – On January 22, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump Administration’s policy that service members serve according to their biological sex to take effect temporarily as several lawsuits continue to proceed. New York – In addition to the terrible new abortion law, New York added “gender identity” to all of the state’s anti-discrimination laws (with impacts to areas such as healthcare, sex-segregated facilities like restrooms, charities that serve women, and more) and prohibited so-called “conversion therapy” for minors struggling with same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria. Arizona – Two young calligraphers, Breanna Koski and Joanna Duka, were heard in the Arizona Supreme Court on January 22. They had sued the City of Phoenix to prevent its nondiscrimination ordinance from forcing them to serve same-sex weddings, with the risk of fines or even jail time if they don’t comply, and had so far lost. Missouri – Bucking recent trends, a federal court in Missouri ruled on January 16 that the word “sex” in the Fair Housing Act does not include “sexual orientation.” The judge dismissed the case of a civilly married same-sex couple who sued a non-profit, faith-based retirement community that would not allow them to live together in the community. They will likely appeal.