The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is the most common appellation for the laws that proscribe same-sex marriage, yet there is no empirical evidence that these laws even affect heterosexual unions. They do nothing to address the real financial and emotional strains on marriage, leading Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., to call the federal DOMA a "legislative placebo" when it passed in 1996.

In an April 12 guest column, Jeff Kemp asserts: " ... Same-sex marriage will further reduce the meaning of marriage. Scandinavia's experiment resulted in a big drop in heterosexual marriage and more out-of-wedlock births." A closer look at the situation in Scandinavia, however, reveals that same-sex marriage did not precede any decline in heterosexual marriage. Even Stanley Kurtz of the Hoover Institution, who has relied on Scandinavia to justify his opposition to same-sex marriage, concedes this point.

The House Judiciary Committee's Constitution Subcommittee has found Kurtz's research "entirely without intellectual merit." For instance, Kurtz cites England as an example of cultural decline despite its lack of same-sex marriage. Otherwise, his work lacks any comparison of European countries with and without same-sex marriage to see if they have experienced declines similar to Scandinavia's and outright admits that diverse factors contribute to such decline.

Kemp expresses concern about the impact same-sex marriage has on children. This overlooks the as many as 1 million children being raised by same-sex parents. During last year's congressional debates on a constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., wisely said: " ... This amendment is aimed at ... preventing any state from bringing some stability to the lives of those children by allowing (the) lesbian or gay couples ... who are raising those children to be able to get married."

Children's Rights, National Center for Youth Law and various adoption agencies have filed a friend of the court brief advocating same-sex marriage in the case before the Washington Supreme Court. The American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Child Welfare League of America and many other groups concur with their findings.

When Kemp writes that this debate should not focus on "adult validation and acceptance," he dismisses how devastating prejudice is to every group that faces it. Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., says of DOMA: "Society communicates particular values and attitudes to its members ... primarily through laws ... this body is pushing legislation that will reinforce intolerance and hostility toward gay people." Worst of all, codifying this animus harms and betrays vulnerable young people who are coming to terms with their sexual identities.

The American Psychological Association has stated that science has held for some time that homosexuality is not only natural but an innate characteristic. Thus, any claim that same-sex marriage will affect heterosexual relationships is specious.

Civil unions became legal in Vermont around five years ago, and 11 months ago same-sex marriage finally came to Massachusetts. The divorce rate in Massachusetts remains among the lowest in the nation, and neither state has experienced the negative effects predicted by Kemp and Kurtz. Openly gay Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., notes that social change is always met with fear and apocalyptic warnings, and it is high time we learn the lesson that these fears are unwarranted.

Full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals is a step toward a society of acceptance. Civil rights hero John Lewis, now serving in Congress, said it best in his speech against DOMA: "We are now moving toward the 21st century. Let us come together and create one nation, one people, one family, one house, the American house, the American family, the American nation."

Source: Seattle PI
By ANDREW KOHLER

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 at 12:35 PM. Want to discuss? Leave a comment below.