Congressman uses Baltimore riots as argument against same-sex marriage

In an interview with the Family Research Council's Washington Watch radio program this week, Texas Rep. Bill Flores (R) likened this week's turmoil in Baltimore to the consequences of same-sex marriage.

During the interview, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said that the government should be "the last stop" to fix social issues. "And a lot of these problems are created by the breakdown of the family, which the redefinition of marriage would only accelerate," he said. Flores agreed, adding that single-parent households are more likely to have children living in poverty.

"You look at what's going on in Baltimore today, you know, you see issues that are raised there,” Flores said. "And healthy marriages are the ones between a man and a woman, because they can have a healthy family, and they can raise children in the way that's best for their future, not only socially, but psychologically, economically, from a health perspective. There's just nothing like traditional marriage that does that for a child. Each of us has a mother and a father, and there's just no way to get around that."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up