2.03.2015

Children of Same Sex Marriage Families Speak Out

The notions set out by Justice Kennedy in Windsor v. U.S. prompted one child raised in a same-sex parent home to write an open letter to the Justice.  You can find it in full at http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2015/02/14370/ on Public Discourse.  This effort took courage to write, and experience and insight to understand.  Katy Faust writes about her love for her loving gay mother, and her concern for other children like her.  Here's a bit of what she says:


"It's very difficult to speak about this subject, because I love my mom. Most of us children with gay parents do. We also love their partner(s). You don't hear much from us because, as far as the media are concerned, it's impossible that we could both love our gay parent(s) and oppose gay marriage. Many are of the opinion I should not exist. But I do, and I'm not the only one.  This debate, at its core, is about one thing. It's about children.  The definition of marriage should have nothing to do with lessening emotional suffering within the homosexual community. If the Supreme Court were able to make rulings to affect feelings, racism would have ended fifty years ago. Nor is this issue primarily about the florist, the baker, or the candlestick-maker, though the very real impact on those private citizens is well-publicized. The Supreme Court has no business involving itself in romance or interpersonal relationships. I hope very much that your ruling in June will be devoid of any such consideration."

 

Faust continues to assert that government is only involved in marriage to promote the well-being of children, saying "Children are the reason government has any stake in this discussion at all." Indeed, children need both a father and a mother, married to each other, to thrive.  "Rethinking Mom and Dad" at  http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2462112 will help in that understanding, particularly in the context of the father void many children face today. To learn more about the effects of Windsor, see http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2462093.

 

The thoughts of Katy Faust in her letter is just one example, as she says, of children living in the aftermath of being raised by same sex parents. Other children of same sex parents, like Faust, are also speaking out, and you can read more about this from Charisma Magazine which covered the adult child's perspective at

As a parent herself now Faust has an important perspective: "Now that I am a parent, I see clearly the beautiful differences my husband and I bring to our family. I see the wholeness and health that my children receive because they have both of their parents living with and loving them. I see how important the role of their father is and how irreplaceable I am as their mother. We play complementary roles in their lives, and neither of us is disposable. In fact, we are both critical. It's almost as if Mother Nature got this whole reproduction thing exactly right." 

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