SSM DEBATE AT BOWLING GREEN STATE U: From the BG News

...The panel included Andrew Koppelman, professor of law at Northwestern University; Judith Stacey, professor of sociology at New York University; Jennifer Roback Morse, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University; and Laura Sanchez, associate professor of sociology at the university, who took the place of Katherine Spaht of Louisiana State University. ...

According to Morse, the ability to create and raise a stable family is a premier argument against same-sex marriages.

"It is a well-established fact that children that grow up with their biological parents that are still together are better [at] growing up," she said. It is better, because those children who grow up in other-than-heterosexual families consume a lot of consumer resources and are overcompensating for what's not going on at home.

During the first 30-minute question-and-answer session by audience members, Wendy Manning, professor of sociology at the university, rebutted Morse's claim.

"There are no studies showing the comparison of same-sex and heterosexual couples. There is not an appropriate comparison group," she said.

Furthermore, the traditional notion of a child's biological parents staying together and raising him or her in a conflict-free environment is no longer reality, she said.

"Is the children growing up better a legitimate argument against same-sex marriage?" Koppelman asked rhetorically. "Well, a large number of convicted child molesters are step-fathers -- does that mean that widowed or divorced women should not be allowed to remarry?"

Koppelman, a published author of "The Gay Rights Question in Contemporary American Law," simply stated that as the same-sex marriage controversy continues to evoke emotion on the federal and state fronts that the nation as a whole will have to learn to agree to disagree.

"There are 40 states clearly against same-sex marriage -- both sides want nationwide recognition. Neither side is getting what it wants. What we need is a way to live together in disagreement," he said.

From an economic standpoint, Koppelman said that the nonrecognition of same-sex couples between the states keeps those individuals out of the state altogether -- creating a loss of revenue.

"The loss of rights [to gay couples] is a reason to stay out of Ohio," he said. "It is a burden to interstate commerce."

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posted by Eve at 9:18 AM VOTE

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