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POSTED 4 DEC 2003 |
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Numbers like these (charts) give advocates of marriage the willies. Data: U.S. Census Bureau, cited at Divorce Reform Page
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Not very gay: National marital dispute
 The
recent decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court legalizing
marriage for gay people aroused a predictable word-storm. Bad for
the kids, say opponents of gay marriage. Good for the kids, say proponents,
who argue that kids do better when raised in the kind of stable relationship
that marriage fosters.
Bad for society, opponents argue, since it flouts God's law. A humane and necessary expansion of personal liberty, and a realistic acknowledgement of social diversity, say the opponents' opponents.
Much as we treasure a good fracas, the Why Files is not going to jump into this fray. Instead, we'd like to focus on conventional marriages. Are they good for men -- and women? What about the kids? As the government has entered the marriage-promotion biz, will that help parents, children and society? Say "I do." Is marriage a good thing for she and he? |
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There are 1
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pages in this feature. Terry Devitt, editor; Sarah Goforth, project assistant; S.V. Medaris, designer/illustrator; David Tenenbaum, feature writer; Amy Toburen, content development executive ©2003, University of Wisconsin, Board of Regents. |
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Unstable
and untenable, shout the traditional-values crowd. Takes one to know
one, sneer proponents of gay marriage, who note that half of conventional
marriages wind up in divorce courts. (We would add that one-third
of American kids are born to single mothers, and half of all American
kids will live with a single parent at some point.)