As you may already know, Dr. Bill Bennett will be joining Massachusetts Family Institute at our annual banquet this October as our keynote speaker. We could not be more excited to welcome such a prominent leader of the conservative movement in America.

Bill Bennett served as President Reagan’s Secretary of Education and Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as the first President Bush’s “Drug Czar.” He is known, even by his adversaries, as a man of strong, reasoned convictions who speaks candidly, eloquently, and honestly about some of the most important issues of our time.

In addition to his national radio program, Dr. Bennett is an accomplished author of more than twenty books . His latest book, The Book of Man: Readings on the Path to Manhood, is a New York Times bestseller. His three volume set of the history of the United States entitled America: The Last Best Hope, has been widely praised. The volumes have been adopted for school use in the State of Indiana and the City of New York, and are currently being adopted by other school systems around the country.

This year’s banquet will take place on Friday, October 12, at the Newton Marriott Hotel. Bill Bennett continues to have extraordinary influence on America’s political and social landscape and we are very grateful that he has agreed to be with us to celebrate our 21st year of defending family values in the Bay State.

What have past attendees said about our banquets?

“It was a truly inspiring evening. MFI always brings in the most insightful speakers.”

“Being a conservative in Massachusetts can be a lonely thing. The MFI banquet is an annual antidote for that!”

“It is always a pleasure to be around so many people who believe in the same Christian values that I do. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Those purchasing their tickets before July 4, 2012 will receive a complimentary copy of Preparing the Next Generation of Men I-II, a CD featuring Dr. Bill Bennett. In these recording, Bennett discusses the decline of authentic masculinity in our culture and offers insights on how parents can raise their boys to become true men.

You can reserve your seats for the banquet, as well as the special VIP reception, by CLICK HERE. Seats for the banquet are available for $75, while the VIP reception package is priced at $100 and includes admittance to both the reception and the banquet.

For our families,

Former Victoria’s Secret model Kylie Bisutti spoke last night at Trinity Evangelical Church in North Reading addressing more than 400 women of all ages, including mothers and teenage girls. Bisutti’s remarks centered around her rise to fame and fortune, and the destructive path that the modeling lifestyle led her down before she realized that God had a better plan.

Speaking to a nearly exclusively female audience, Bisutti candidly shared about the need for modesty, and about the importance of finding inner beauty. She noted that her decision to walk away from what had been her dream career came from her personal discovery of her faith, God’s plan for her, and the realization that her husband deserved better from her. After speaking to the group, Bisutti spent nearly an hour personally meeting with those young women that wanted to talk to her afterwards.

Massachusetts Family Institute partnered with Trinity to bring the Montana-native to the Bay State in her first New England appearance. Spearheading the planning of the event was MFI Board Member Kim Incampo, who, along with my wife Lura, presented Bisutti with our first ever Esther Award. You will have to come to the MFI Banquet in October to hear more via video from Kylie and find out why we decided to recognize her with this special award.

The North Reading Patch covered the event, and has several photos on their website. CLICK HERE to view their story.

A first-of-its-kind bill is being proposed in California that would ban teens and children from receiving therapy to escape unwanted same-sex attractions, and discourage it for adults. Opponents are calling it a blatant denial of freedom and parental/family rights. Nonetheless, it has already made its way through the state Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill would ban anyone under age 18 from receiving sexual-orientation change efforts on the assertion, made by gay-marriage supporters, that sexual orientation is generally inborn and immutable. It would require adults to sign a release form before treatment begins, stating that the therapy will be ineffective and probably damaging. Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), a legal-defense group that objects to the bill’s impact on “free speech and family rights” called the proposal “one of the most outrageous, speech-chilling bills we have ever seen in California – and that’s saying a lot.” Matthew McReynolds, a lawyer with PJI, noted that the bill appears to give the state the “power to take kids away from parents who do not affirm the kids’ sexual confusion.”

(This particular bill is one of the most egregious and frightening I’ve ever seen. It essentially prevents a parent from leading their child away from unwanted same-sex attractions, and attempts to prevent adults from receiving help to leave the homosexual lifestyle. In effect, it is not simply attempting to gain acceptance for homosexuality, but make its opposition illegal.)

According to the Department of Public Health, there have been 239,943 marriages in Massachusetts between one man and one woman. There have also been 18,462 same-sex marriages, 6,847 male and 11,615 female.

More than six hundred people have already signed our petition in support of marriage which we will submit to the Congressmen and Senators representing us in Washington, including Senator Brown. If you haven’t had a chance to do so, please CLICK HERE to do it right now. You can also help us spread the work about this petition on Facebook and Twitter.

The Boston Common event will be part of a nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom outside federal buildings, Congressional offices and historic sites across the country. The theme for the Rally is ‘Stand Up for Religious Freedom-Stop the HHS Mandate!’

Thousands of Americans of all faiths will be participating in these peaceful rallies to oppose the mandate from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that requires all employers provide free contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs through their health plans, even in violation of their consciences.

Remember, if the Government can order us to violate our religious beliefs, then we have lost our religious freedom. Rest assured, if Freedom of Religion is compromised, Freedom of Speech and the Right to Assemble will be next!

Please check the Massachusetts web site http://standupforreligiousfreedom.net/home and the national website http://standupforreligiousfreedom.com/ for the latest news. We will provide more information as we get it.

This Sunday families across America will be celebrating their mothers on Mother’s Day.

“Her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praises her. Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” Proverbs 31:28,30b

We are reminded of the sacrificial love that mothers often extend to their children. Like Moses’ mother who hid her son for three months before releasing him into the Nile, all the while trusting the Lord. Her love, tender care and prayers made it possible for Moses to be used by the Lord to one day lead the enslaved Israelites out of Egypt.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, also had to sacrificially release her Son to “be about my Father’s business” and one day become the Savior of all mankind. The cost to Mary was horrific, yet the love that Our Heavenly Father gives a mother made it possible for Mary to trust the Lord and hear Elizabeth say, “Blessed is she who believed, for there will be fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” Luke 1:45

We at Massachusetts Family Institute join the families of our Commonwealth in honoring all of the mothers who love, care for and do the seemingly impossible in raising up the next generation that the Lord has fearfully and wonderfully created. We pray for the Lord to bless you with His strength, His wisdom and His favor as you serve in this most highly esteemed role as MOTHER.

Lura Mineau

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 9, 2012

MFI President Kris Mineau responds to
President Barack Obama’s flip-flop on same-sex marriage

WOBURN–Massachusetts Family Institute President Kris Mineau released the following statement after President Obama endorsed the redefinition of marriage to include same-sex couples during an interview with ABC News:

“Today, President Obama has become the ultimate flip-flopper and the first sitting American President to endorse same-sex marriage. He has gone from supporting the redefinition of marriage in 1996 as a candidate for state senate, to opposing same-sex marriage as a candidate for both U.S. Senate in 2004 and President in 2008, to now once again supporting it in 2012.

“On such a foundational issue as marriage, it is shocking to watch an elected official, especially one of such stature as President of the United States, stand on all sides of it.

“It would appear that this is nothing more than an election year change designed to shore up support from one of his core liberal constituencies, and one that has deep pockets. It is interesting to note that this announcement comes just hours after North Carolina became the thirty-second state to overwhelmingly endorse the historic and natural definition of marriage,” Mineau concluded.

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WOBURN, MA – Massachusetts Family Institute President Kris Mineau released the following statement in response to North Carolina’s overwhelming endorsement of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman:

“We commend and applaud North Carolina voters for making their state the thirty-second to uphold the historic and natural definition of marriage by referendum. We personally want to congratulate our friends and colleagues at the North Carolina Family Policy Council, as well as their supporters and faith leaders, on such a resounding victory for the institution of marriage.

“Each one of these victories for natural marriage in the hands of the voters conjures up conflicting emotions for those of us in the Bay State. On the one hand, we are excited to continue to see states protect their best interests from what started here with activist judges thrusting same-sex marriage upon us. On the other, seeing citizens having the opportunity to vote on marriage serves as one more reminder of what has been repeatedly denied the voters in Massachusetts by those elected to represent them.

“We hold no false hope that this reality will change any time soon here, but our ultimate goal remains giving the voters of the Commonwealth the final say as to how marriage will be defined. We continue this fight because the American people and the majority of Massachusetts residents still value the unique benefits that marriage between a man and a woman brings to families and society,” concluded Mineau.

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Under a state law that legalized casino gambling in Massachusetts, developers must first negotiate an agreement with the city or town where they hope to build a casino before they can apply for a state gambling license.

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Stephanie Crimmins, who founded the group No Foxboro Casino in December, said members of the grassroots organization are “just absolutely thrilled” by the news.
Read the full article HERE.