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Over half of Americans now support gay marriage
A few days ago, I wrote about how gay parents have become more socially accepted than single moms. That article said that 50 % of Americans support gay marriage.
The truth is even better: a new study released today shows that for the first time, a majority of Americans support marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples. The study, conducted by ABC News and the Washington Post, found that 53% of Americans say same-sex marriage should be legal. Just a year ago, that number was only 47%.
The improved support for same-sex marriage follows a long trend. Americans have been coming out in greater numbers to support same-sex marriage since 2004, when only a third supported it.
The Labor Department issued a ruling today allowing employees in a same-sex relationship to care for the child of his or her partner under the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act. The new ruling is based on language used in the 1993 law, and cites that “a biological or legal relationship is not necessary” for someone to be in loco parentis with a child.
Good news! Yet the FMLA still does not allow same-sex couples to care for one another, because the U.S. government does not recognize same-sex partnerships. Individual employers are free to provide benefits to homosexual couples, but they are not required to under federal law.
How are the children of same-sex partners supposed to do well if their parents aren’t treated well? How can any parent be expected to care for a child if they themselves are not cared for? There’s some important logic missing in this ruling. Continue reading »
I imagine that, as a child in the foster-care system, it would be difficult to trust anyone, be it case workers, foster parents, or pretty much any adult. But when an entire foster-care program throws up its hands and walks away, that’s got to hurt. Especially when the reason is as irrelevant and malicious as a personal opposition to same-sex marriage. That, however, is exactly what the Catholic Church has done in Washington D.C.
One thing that opponents of same-sex marriage overlook is the fact that many, many gay couples are already raising families. And the children of those families are increasingly speaking up for their parents — and themselves.
One is Kasey Nicholson-McFadden, a blond-haired 10-year-old boy who looks like he just stepped out of a Ralph Lauren ad. Continue reading »
According to a psychologist testifying in the federal case challenging the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, same-sex parents are just as good as their mixed-gender counterparts. That’s not just one man’s opinion, however. It’s the finding of more than a hundred studies on the subject and the official opinion of the American Psychological Association and seven other professional organizations. And based on my own personal experiences, I have to agree.
Based on my own personal, anecdotal experience, I’d have to agree with these conclusions — the lesbian parents I know are far better parents than I am. The same, actually, is true of the guys raising kids together too. Of course, all that is nothing more than one person’s experience and may very well be more indicative of my lack of skill than their exceptional abilities. There is, however, actual scientific research on the matter and it matches what I’ve encountered personally — Lesbians are better parents than straight couples.
The judge who overturned Florida’s ban on gay parents adopting children has been demoted. Judge Cindy Lederman made Florida history in November 2008, granting the adoption of the children of a gay foster dad who had been raising them all their lives. Judge Lederman called the ban unconstitutional.
After her ruling, the state Continue reading »
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