Prop 8...Protecting Families?

Thank goodness for Barbara Young, wife of former NFL quarterback Steve Young. She recently came out in opposition to Prop 8 saying, "We believe ALL families matter and we do not believe in discrimination, therefore, our family will vote against Prop 8."

I agree. All families do matter. I have been troubled throughout this debate by the argument from opponents of same-sex marriage that this is all about protecting children and preserving the traditional family structure. Several of my friends have cited a report that came out of France. Apparently, they rejected same-sex marriage on the basis that “the best interests of children must prevail over adult freedoms…even including the lifestyle choices of parents.” The report goes on to say, "It is essential that the male-female nature of marriage be preserved. This corresponds to a biological reality that same-sex couples are naturally infertile, and to an imperative, that of helping the child develop his/her identity as necessarily coming from the union of a man and a woman.” Here's what else the report recommended: denying homosexuals the right to adopt or to have physician-assisted fertility treatments such as artificial insemination or IVF. Fortunately, the French lawmakers rejected those conditions.

For the sake of this argument, let's suppose that it truly is better for a child to be raised by two heterosexual parents (although there are plenty of studies to the contrary). So, how is eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry going to decrease the number of children being raised by homosexual parents? IT ISN'T!! Same-sex couples will continue to adopt, and undergo artificial insemination and IVF in order to have their own families. But taking away the right of same-sex couples to legally marry does relegate those families to second-class status. Is this in the best interest of THOSE children? I don't think so. In an LA Times Op/Ed, Jonathan Rauch wrote, "For children, no other arrangement matches the security and stability afforded by married parents, because no other arrangement confers comparable status and social support. If they could cast ballots, how many of the more than 50,000 children being raised in California's same-sex households would vote to deprive themselves of married parents?"

Now back to the French. Even though I think their report was off base, at least it had teeth. I mean, if you really believe that children have a right to be raised in a home with two married, heterosexual parents, then you'd better also make sure that homosexuals don't adopt or procreate. I'd even take it a step further...you must outlaw procreation or adoption by single, straight parents or heterosexual couples who are living together outside of the bonds of wedlock. And if straight parents divorce? Well, their children should be immediately reassigned to another family whose parents are still married.

Do you really want it written into the constitution what defines a family? I guess to those in favor of Prop 8, the answer is "yes" because it supports their view of what a family should be. But it's a very slippery slope. There are many who would say that with global warming and overpopulation putting the existence of our planet in jeopardy, limiting the number of children a couple can have is essential for our survival as a species. There could come a day when people want to define a family as no more than two children. If Prop 8 passes and we set a precedent that it's okay to take away fundamental rights, you'll have no room to complain when you find yourself on the other end.

Lola Van Wagenen, a Mormon historian, wrote in a recent LA Times Op/Ed, "Our polygamous ancestors were accused of being incapable of providing loving homes for their children. Who knows better than we do that this was untrue? Who can deny that our "nontraditional" ancestors left a heritage of hardworking, high-achieving progeny. And yet the fallacy that "nontraditional" marriages erode and destroy family values is one of the main attacks being used against gay and lesbian couples by LDS proponents of Proposition 8."

Prop 8 is "one size fits all" legislation that elevates the traditional family above the many other types of families that exist today. This is 2008. Children do not need to be "protected" from loving, same-sex parents. What they need to be protected from is a general populous that finds it acceptable to write discrimination into our constitution.