Opponents of same-sex marriage in the United States

Opponents of same-sex marriage in the United States include organizations and individuals who seek to prevent or reverse the legalization of same-sex marriage. Opponents of same-sex marriage have introduced federal^[1] and state legislation seeking to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman,^[2][3] and have added language prohibiting same-sex marriage to state constitutions.^[4]

Background

In 1993, the Supreme Court of Hawaii ruled in Baehr v. Lewin, 852 P.2d 44 (Haw. 1993), that refusing to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples was sex-discrimination under that state's constitution.^[5] In response to concerns about same-sex marriage being legalized in other states, the federal Defense of Marriage Act was passed in 1996. In addition, Hawaiian voters passed Hawaii Constitutional Amendment 2 in 1998.^[6]

In the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's November 2003 decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, same-sex marriage was legalized in Massachusetts, which was the first time a state supreme court had made such a ruling^[7] and made it the first state to permit such marriages. Social and religious conservatives feared that their own state supreme courts would issue such rulings at some point in the future; in order to prevent this, they proposed additional constitutional bans on same-sex marriage,^[8] as well as statutory provisions limiting marriage to the union of one man and one woman. In 2004, eleven "marriage protection amendment" referenda were placed on state ballots.^[9]

Supporters of same-sex marriage in the United States have sought to introduce laws to permit civil marriage between two individuals of the same sex, and have brought lawsuits challenging laws that define marriage as a relationship between one man and one woman.^[10] Efforts by President George W. Bush and others to pass a Federal Marriage Amendment during the first decade of the twenty-first century were unsuccessful. As of January 2010, 29 states had state "constitutional amendments restricting marriage to one man and one woman", while 12 others had laws "restricting marriage to one man and one woman".^[11]

Arguments against same-sex marriage

Most arguments used by opponents of same-sex marriage are based on religious grounds.^[12][13] U.S. Roman Catholic bishops contend that "a same-sex union contradicts the nature of marriage: It is not based on the natural complementarity of male and female; it cannot cooperate with God to create new life; and the natural purpose of sexual union cannot be achieved by a same-sex union. Persons in same-sex unions cannot enter into a true conjugal union. Therefore, it is wrong to equate their relationship to a marriage."^[14] The Southern Baptist Convention claims that extending marriage rights to same-sex couples would undercut the conventional purpose of marriage.^[15] Other religious opponents of same-sex marriage hold that same-sex relationships should not be recognized as marriages on the grounds that same-gender sexual activity is contrary to God's will,^[16] is unnatural,^[17] and subverts God's creative intent for human sexuality.^[18]

Some same-sex marriage opponents raise parenting concerns; they argue that having and raising children is the underlying purpose of marriage, that homosexual unions implicitly lack the ability of heterosexual couples to produce and raise offspring by natural means, that children raised by same-sex partners are disadvantaged in various ways,^[19] and that homosexual unions thus cannot be recognized within the scope of "marriage". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Southern Baptist Convention, and National Organization for Marriage argue that children do best when raised by a mother and father, and that legalizing same-sex marriage is, therefore, contrary to the best interests of children.^{[14][20][21][22][23]} These viewpoints differ from the professional consensus of social scientists and other experts that children raised by lesbian or gay parents do not differ in any important respects from those raised by heterosexual parents and that no credible empirical research suggests otherwise.^[24]

Political parties and candidates

National

The Republican Party’s 2008 platform supports a ban on same-sex marriage through a federal constitutional amendment, along with state constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage and the Defense of Marriage Act.^[25]

All four major candidates for president and vice-president in the 2008 general election were opposed to same-sex marriage.^[26] This list includes President Barack Obama, who has stated that "I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. For me as a Christian, it is a sacred union. You know, God is in the mix."^[27] Notably, however, President Obama also "supports full civil unions and federal rights for LGBT couples",^[28] opposed the passage of Proposition 8 in California, and plans to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act.^[29] In late 2010, President Obama hinted that his views on this issue may be changing.^[30]

Elected officials

President

• Barack Obama^[31] (D-Illinois, stated support for same-sex marriage in 1996,^[32] but later stated opposition to marriage^[27] in favor of civil unions;^[33] says his viewpoints are "evolving".^[33])

Former Presidents

• George W. Bush^[34] (R-Texas)

Other notable elected officials

New York

• Senator Rubén Díaz, Sr.^[120] (D-32)

Rhode Island

• Senate President M. Teresa Paiva-Weed^[121] (D-13)

Organizations

See also

• U.S. state constitutional amendments banning same-sex unions
• List of U.S. state constitutional amendments banning same-sex unions by type
• Marriage in the United States
• Same-sex marriage in the United States
• Same-sex marriage law in the United States by state
• List of supporters of same-sex marriage in the United States

References