The Prop 8 trial is over, in case you hadn’t heard.
The judge will now take the time to make his decision, one that will likely make no difference at all—it will be appealed.
Meanwhile the rest of us scrape for the facts, some kind of understanding of what happened over the last two weeks in that San Francisco courtroom. Over the course of the trial, I scoured the Internet in search of reliable updates only to be disappointed.
Unbiased news was hard to come by.
There were numberless sites that told me why the homosexual marriage proponents were tearing apart the Prop. 8 defense, and I found a few that described the simple unraveling of the plaintiffs’ main points—none that felt unbiased—until today.
Rare Objectivism
TIME wrote an article that sang the song of true objective journalism. Other than that one article, I’ve been very disappointed. Most of what I heard was editorializing, and I couldn’t help but wonder, “Where are the facts? The statistics?”
I would like to give some statistics that seemed to be left out of the court case, statistics that speak the truth, with no need of editorializing or appeal to authority.
In the TIME’s article, a man was quoted in saying, “There are more than ample grounds to argue that the sustenance of marriage is necessary for the flourishing of human culture. Thus, anything that damages marriage or subverts its place in society is deleterious (harmful) in its effects.”
He continued, “Throughout history, societies have regulated marriage with this danger in mind, recognizing in marriage the privileged status granted to the heterosexual union as the best context for procreation and the raising of children — functions understood to be vital to the society’s well-being.”
The Facts
Here’s a sample of the “more than ample grounds” he referred to that argue the importance of traditional marriage for children (sources found below).
Approximately 18 percent of children from traditional families will be suspended or expelled from school, children living with one biological parent and a stepparent (which is what a homosexual parent would be) has about a 30 percent chance.
Of the children that repeat grades in school, 11 percent live with both biological parents, 21 percent live with a mother and a stepfather (which, as said earlier, is what a homosexual parent would be).
Children raised by one biological parent and a step parent are about three times more likely to end up in jail as adults than children raised by both of their biological parents.
In a survey of 272 high school students, thirty-eight percent of teens in step-families reported suicidal behavior, compared to 20 percent of teens from single-parent homes and 9 percent of teens from intact families.
This is not meant to be an indictment of heterosexual step-families, many make a valiant effort and are successful, but the government should not intentionally create situations where children are guaranteed less than the ideal.
I don’t trust biased mainstream media articles that belong on the opinion page.
P.S. If you’ve found more unbiased articles on Prop. 8, please share them with me and other readers.
Find more of the facts in our issues guides found here.
All of this research can be found in the United Families International issues guides, where hundreds of studies have been compiled to help people see the science concerning the family’s crucial role in society.
Wendy Manning and Kathleen Lamb, “Adolescent Well-being in Cohabitating, Married, and Single-Parent Families,” Journal of Marriage and Family 65 (2003): 876-893.Manning and Kathleen Lamb Source: “Adolescent Well-being in Cohabitating, Married, and Single-Parent Families,” Journal of Marriage and Family 65
Deborah Dawson, “Family Structure and Children’s Health and Well-Being: Data from the 1988 National Health Interview Survey on Child Health,” Journal of Marriage and the Family 53(3) (1991, August): 578.
The Heritage Foundation
Judith Rubenstein, Antonia Halton, Linda Kasten, Carol Rubin and Gerald Stechler, “Suicidal Behavior in Adolescents: Stress and Protection in Different Family Contexts,” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry,” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 68 (1998): 274-84.