How Gay Unions Affect Tradidional Marriage and Families

"In the debate over the redefinition of marriage, advocates of same-sex marriage have made a variety of arguments. Many have argued that same-sex marriage would be good for homosexuals. Some have gone so far as to propose that the change would strengthen the institutions of marriage and family by reaffirming commitment and fidelity.[1] Early data from abroad, however, do not support the claim that same-sex marriage would benefit marriage in general. In the Netherlands, where homosexual relationships gained legal recognition in 1998, same-sex marriage has not strengthened the family but may have accelerated its decline.

As the Netherlands’ experiment in legalizing same-sex unions has illustrated, same-sex marriage in that country constituted one more step in a steady legal and social breakdown of the family. This is not to say that the data imply a causal relationship between the initiation of same-sex marriage and the breakdown of the family in the Netherlands. Rather, the redefinition of marriage furthered a general pattern of cultural and legal erosion of the institution. According to several Dutch social scientists, their fellow citizens “increasingly regard marriage as no longer relevant” because they have been persuaded that “marriage is not connected to parenthood and that marriage and cohabitation are equally valid ‘lifestyle choices…’

Marriage may be losing its place as the fundamental building block of social infrastructure in the Netherlands. As the United States considers how to respond to the judicial dictates redefining marriage, policymakers should be aware of data emerging from the European precedent, and they should choose the most beneficial course for the family in America by preserving the institution of marriage."

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