news Archives

My Thoughts on the Obama Administration’s Letter to Schools Concerning Transgender Bathrooms

Here’s what we sent to the media regarding today’s news. I hope to address this topic – and the issues surrounding it – in greater depth next week. –JD

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Focus on the Family President: Obama Administration’s Letter to Public Schools Undermines Parental Rights, Politicizes Education of 50 Million Schoolchildren
““There should be a balanced approach – one that does not ignore privacy concerns”

Colorado Springs, Colo. – Focus on the Family President Jim Daly issued a statement reacting to the Obama Administration’s letter to public schools on bathroom use today.

Topics: Current Events Tags: family, news, parenting, policy May 13, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

An Innocent Man, a Crooked Cop and the Gift of Forgiveness

Their friendship started in an unlikely way – with a lie and an arrest.

Jameel McGee was walking down a Benton Harbor, Michigan street when police officer Andrew Collins falsely accused him of dealing drugs and arrested McGee. The arrest – and the phony report Collins filed – led to McGee spending four years in prison. During his sentence, McGee lost everything.

While in prison, all McGee could think of was of getting back at the man whose actions had stolen so much from him.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, news May 13, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Good News of the Gospel Brings Hope and Success for African-American Men (Guest Post)

The struggles that Africa-American men, in particular, face in our culture have been well-documented. But recent research offers some helpful signs.

Here to share some explanation and insights about these findings is husband, father and lawyer Timothy Allen. Timothy works in Focus’ public policy area analyzing state legislation and also serves as a member of Focus’ Employee Resource Inclusion Council, which I’ve previously shared about. He’s also a Fellow with Alliance Defending Freedom’s Blackstone Legal Fellowship.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, news April 6, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

When Holy Week & Terrorism Collide

Mobile phone video taken in the moments immediately following the terrorist attack in Brussels shows people running in a smoky airport terminal.

Dust settles on an empty stroller.

We watch a mother hug her young son, fear and worry in her eyes.

Sadly, scenes like what I’ve described above are becoming the new normal. Since June 2014, ISIS has carried out 75 attacks in 20 countries, killing at least 1,280 innocent people. While the majority of these attacks have occurred in the Middle East, ISIS is increasingly targeting the large cities and suburban areas of Europe and North America.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, faith, news March 23, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How to Talk with Your Kids about the Threat of Terrorism

We woke up this morning to horrible news out of Brussels.

Another terrorist attack.

Reports say there were shouts in Arabic before a suicide bomber killed at least 14 people at the Brussels airport. A second blast took 20 more lives during rush hour at a metro train in the capital.

And so once again, a scant four months after the terrorist attacks in Paris, we’re seeing how hatred wreaks destruction and death – and it’s all playing out on our TV and computer screens.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, family, kids, news, parenting March 22, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Remembering a Faithful Pro-Life Leader

When I spoke at the March for Life event in Washington, D.C., in January, I thanked the Catholic Church for its faithful leadership on the abortion issue. It was the Catholic community that mobilized immediately after the Roe v. Wade ruling, in part because it had been grappling with the issue of abortion long before the Supreme Court rendered its horrific ruling in 1973.

That heritage and sincere commitment to defending life was evident in Father Lawrence W.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, news, pro-life March 21, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Please Urge the State Department to Help Christians in the Middle East

As Americans, we’ve become all too familiar with horrific references in the news to the Islamic State, otherwise known as ISIS or ISIL. This jihadist militant group based in the Middle East has made clear its intentions to terrorize, kill and destroy anyone who doesn’t adhere to the tenets of Islamic fundamentalism.

To put it bluntly, they seek to dominate the world and will not stop until (according to their magazine) the “Blessed flag [of their organization] covers all eastern and western extents of the Earth, filling the world with the truth and justice of Islam and putting an end to the falsehood and tyranny of jahiliyyah [state of ignorance], even if America and its coalition despise such.”

Christians remain a key target of ISIS.

Topics: Current Events Tags: news, policy, religious liberty March 14, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Gary Smalley Has Died

My friend Gary Thomas Smalley died last night. He was surrounded by his family, including his son and my Focus colleague, Greg, who had just returned hours earlier from a speaking engagement about marriage.

How fitting, I thought, that on the very day Gary was to receive his eternal reward, his son was picking up where his father had left off, loving and ministering to Christian couples by helping to enrich their marital relationships.

It’s impossible to sum up 75 years’ worth of living into a few words, but let me tell you just a little bit about the man I knew and loved – and the author and personality so many of you appreciated from afar.

Topics: Current Events Tags: broadcast, news March 7, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Why Did This 106-Year-Old Woman Dance in the White House?

Have you seen the video of 106-year-old Virginia McLaurin dancing with joy when her dream of visiting the White House came true?

Mrs. McLaurin met President and Mrs. Obama as part of the administration’s Black History Month commemorations.

Here’s the video:

To be clear, I have strong objections to many of President Obama’s policies. It’s clear that we have a very different worldview on the most important issues of the day including, but not limited to, life, marriage and religious freedom.

Topics: Current Events Tags: news, pro-life February 24, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Watch Monty Williams’ Heartfelt Eulogy for His Wife

Tragedy can strike suddenly – just ask Monty Williams, an assistant basketball coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

On Feb. 9, Ingrid, Monty’s wife of 20 years, died in a head-on car accident after another driver crossed the center lane and hit Ingrid at 78 miles per hour, nearly twice the speed limit.

In a split second Monty’s world was brutally shaken. What started out as an ordinary day ended as one that would forever change the Williams family.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, news, wife February 19, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura