I liked this piece by Cindy Butler at the New York Times recently called “Unmarried, and Ignored by the G.O.P.”:

Republican candidates are missing the mark when speaking to the American public. In all their discussions about “family values” – as defined by marriage between a man and a woman and children born only in marriage – the candidates are ignoring the 100 million unmarried individuals in this country. This is a huge mistake, as this constituency makes up about 30 percent of all American adults. Not all people want to or can marry.

The shift in attitudes about marriage is not new, and it’s not reversible.

Unmarried people build diverse and fulfilling lives in ways that are deeply personal and cannot be legislated, certainly not in ways proposed by the Republican Party.

Butler leads the Alternatives to Marriage Project, which might interest some of you.