California. The article quoted VoteYesMarriage.com, an anti-gay
family equality organization dedicated to barring marriage equality
in the Sunshine State.
I decided the check out VoteYesMarriage.com for myself. Drawn in by the
smiling faces of the diverse opposite-sex couples that lined the
page header, I clicked the link labeled “why we must stop the
judges and politicians.” This is what I discovered:
The California Marriage Amendment is
Essential
to Preserve Marriage for the Sake of the ChildrenDo you see how marriage provides an important
foundation for children?… Marriage is especially important for
the raising of children. Research shows a child does best when
raised by a father and mother who are married. On average, marriage
serves the well-being of children — by raising boys and girls who
are better educated, physically healthier, emotionally more stable,
and less likely to get involved with drugs, drop out of school, get
pregnant before marriage, or become victims of violent crime.
Perhaps the folks at VoteYesMarriage.com are forgetting something.
Straight people aren’t the only ones with children; 20% of gay men
and 33% of lesbians have children. So, then, I ask: don’t our
children deserve the protection of marriage since it is so
important?
And what about the “research” that shows a child does best when
raised by a mother and a father who are married? There are indeed
decades of research on the subject compiled by a great many
sources. In 2006, Family Pride invited those researchers to our
first ever Academic Symposium. For better or worse, we wanted to
provide academics with a space to present their findings and share
their research with the country. The consensus was this: LGBTQ
parents are no better or worse than their non-LGBTQ counterparts.
Not a single piece of research showed otherwise.
So, let’s protect children. Let’s ensure that their families have
legal rights. Let’s ensure that social security survivor benefits
will be transferred from one partner to another. Let’s ensure they
can be covered by the health care of either parent (if it is a
two-parent household). Let’s make sure that nondiscrimination
policies are in place at all levels.
If VoteYesMarriage.com really wants to protect families, they
should start with the families that need it most.