Traditional marriage movement

The traditional marriage movement is an American political movement trying to legally and culturally enshrine the definition of marriage as being the union between one man and one woman.
Background
Gary Glenn, who successfully led the , was a leader in the national movement.
Glenn said the agenda of the movement consists of two items: (1) Pass an amendment to the U.S. Constitution and (2) Pressure then-President Bush to appoint justices who support traditional marriage. In 2004, Glenn indicated that an alliance was growing of those for whom both same-sex marriage and abortion were "non-negotiable", including black Protestants, caucasian evangelicals, conservative members of the Roman Catholic church, and mothers he felt had brought about success in then-recent ballot initiatives.
The Rabbinical Council of America has expressed in a press release that in their view, "the term 'marriage' by its very definition cannot be construed or applied to same-sex relationships. To do so is to deprive the term of its fundamental and defining meaning."
Arguments offered by members of the traditional marriage movement
Prior to the same-sex marriage movement, marriage in the United States was understood to be a union between man and woman.
Supporters of the traditional marriage movement often insist that the legalization of same-sex marriage, by altering the definition of marriage they regard as traditional, would harm families and society as a whole. For instance, in an opinion piece published by the National Review, Sam Brownback, a Republican U.S. Senator from Kansas expresses the view that opposing the legalization of same-sex marriage protects the family, and therefore society as a whole, by promoting the well-being of children. He refers to a study carried out by Child Trends, a child-welfare organization, which claimed there is "value for children in promoting strong, stable marriages between biological parents." He further asserts that "redefining marriage is certain to harm children" under specific conditions.
Voices within the traditional marriage movement, among them Gregory Sullivan, Debra Saunders, the NOM and Stanley Kurtz, argue that the legalization of same-sex marriage will open the door for the legalization of polygamy, and that legalization of same-sex marriage would erode religious freedoms.
Some participants in the movement argue that a child should be raised by only a father and a mother.Based on research showing that, on average, children do best when raised by their biological parents in a low-conflict marriage, some argue that legal marriage is a way of encouraging monogamy and commitment by those who may create children through their sexual coupling.
Stanley Kurtz of the Hoover Institution argues that same-sex marriage separates the ideas of marriage and parenthood, thereby accelerating marital decline. He cites studies showing a substantial rise in the out-of-wedlock birthrates, for both firstborn and subsequent children in areas where same-sex unions are legal. Kurtz also takes the view that allowing same-sex marriage open the door to the redefinition of marriage to include other legally recognized arrangements (such as polygamy) that would have unknown (and possibly detrimental) effects on children.
Traditional marriage advocate Maggie Gallagher states that same-sex marriage is merely a step designed to create legal principles under which sexual orientation will be treated as an immutable characteristic like race, and that same-sex marriage advocates seek to use the law to "stigmatize, marginalize, and repress those who disagree with the government’s new views on marriage and sexual orientation."
Opposition
The traditional marriage movement is opposed by organizations and individuals who advocate for same-sex marriage. Opponents of the traditional marriage movement take the view that the government should have no role in regulating personal relationships, while others argue that same-sex marriage would provide social benefits to same-sex couples. A 2004 Statement by the American Anthropological Association states that there is no evidence that society needs to maintain "marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution", and, further, that same-sex unions can "contribute to stable and humane societies." Others such as Americans United for Separation of Church and State argue that by defining marriage as an opposite-sex institution, the state infringes upon the constitutional right to freedom of religion. Still others contend that limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples infringes upon the fundamental right to marry, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution, deprives children growing up in same-sex households of the benefits of having parents that are legally married, and stigmatizes same-sex couples.
Supporters have been accused of "bait and switch" for trying to use the laws to deny non-marriage recognition or benefits for same-sex couples after denying that use or the importance thereof during the campaign. This accusation has surfaced with both and Michigan's Proposal 2. Academics have accused movement forces of distorting their research and taking it out of context to support discriminatory goals.
Proposition 8
Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot measure in the State of California, has been identified as a pivotal event in the history of the traditional marriage movement. Proposition 8 amended the California State Constitution to limit the definition of marriage to opposite-sex couples, thereby overriding portions of the California Supreme Court decision entitled In re Marriage Cases, which held that same-sex couples had the right to marry. Proposition 8 was supported by organizations such as the Knights of Columbus, Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council, along with the California Catholic Conference, the leaders of individual Mormon, Orthodox Jewish, Southern Baptist, and Seventh-day Adventist congregations. It was opposed by the California Council of Churches, The Board of Rabbis of Southern California, leaders of individual Seventh-day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Presbyterian congregations, and all six of California's Episcopal diocesan bishops.
Despite the passage of Proposition 8, same-sex marriage supporters believe that such marriages will eventually be legalized in California. They point to polls showing that younger people overwhelmingly rejected Proposition 8, and maintain this bodes well for the future. In contrast, Frank Shubert, lead strategist with the Proposition 8 campaign asserts that young people's "views change when they marry and have their own children."
Organizations in the traditional marriage movement
* Alliance Defense Fund
* Alliance for Marriage
* American Center for Law and Justice
* The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property
* The Catholic Church
* The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
* Knights of Columbus
* Marriage Law Project
* National Republican Party
See also
* Defense of marriage amendment
* Family values
* Federal Marriage Amendment
* Heterosexism
* LGBT rights opposition
* Religion and homosexuality
* Religious arguments about same-sex marriage
* Same-sex marriage
* Same-sex marriage in the United States

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu