American Foundation for Equal Rights

Sacramento Bee: Prop. 8 witness says gay unions would shatter marriage

The star witness for backers of Proposition 8 testified Tuesday that same-sex marriage, if widely adopted, will lead to the “deinstitutionalization” of marriage in general, leading to more divorces.

David Blankenhorn, president of the Institute for American Values, also testified that many studies show that children have better “outcomes” if raised by a biological mother and biological father. While he said a “positive” outcome for a child was not guaranteed by this arrangement, it serves as “seed beds from which come good citizens” more likely to make contributions to society.

Gay couples contend in their federal lawsuit that Proposition 8′s gay marriage ban amounts to unconstitutional discrimination. But the measure’s defenders counter that voters had a fundamental interest in limiting marriage to a man and a woman for procreation.

Read the rest of Susan Ferriss’s Sacramento Bee article here.