Contributors
Chris Field- Contributor

Chris Field is Editor of Human Events Online [go to Field index]

Same-Sex Marriage for Kids
WaPo goes after the minds of the children...
[Chris Field] 3/22/04

The debate over homosexual marriage has gone on loudly in this nation for a while now, and the Leftists in the establishment media, specifically those in the newspaper industry, have made their biases known to the world -- from the front page to the editorial page. But Wednesday the Washington Post declared a new frontline in this cultural battle -- KidsPost

KidsPost, as you might be able to discern from the title, is the page in the Washington Post dedicated to news for kids, providing issues of the day written in a way that they will understand. For example, Thursday's KidsPost covered March Madness, Tuesday's KidsPost looked at what's going on at the National Zoo in D.C., and Monday's KidsPost was about children in Indonesia going to school.

What was the subject of Wednesday's KidsPost? Gay marriage. The page contained two articles on the subject by Fern Shen: "Defining Marriage" and "What's Best for Kids?"

"Defining Marriage" offered a look at the life of a 10-year-old boy, Justin McGuire, who, along with his infant half-sister, is being raised by his mother and her lesbian partner. In it Shen labels the mother's partner as "Justin's other mother" and writes that though Justin lives with his "two mothers" he also sees his father on the weekends. Shen notes that "Justin says it doesn't feel like a big deal, being in this kind of household."

The author goes on to write that "Justin doesn't understand how come his parents can't get married. They consider themselves married, but they would like to be legally married. They'd like to have a wedding. And Justin really wants to be the ring bearer."

According to Shen, "families like Justin's are not unique. The 2000 Census counted 15,000 same-sex couples in the Washington area and 600,000 nationwide. Still, a majority of Americans remain uncomfortable with the idea of same-sex marriage." KidsPost does not mention whether these "common" families include two children -- a 10-year-old boy and an infant girl.

Shen goes on to lecture the young readers of KidsPost that "People who are against [gay marriage] say it would weaken traditional marriages and society as a whole if same-sex marriage were made legal. Many religions also teach that marriage is only between a man and a woman."

The author subsequently notes in "What's Best for Kids?" which religions are offering such teaching: "Roman Catholics, Orthodox Jews, traditional Muslims and some Protestants." She does not, however, mention any religions that teach marriage to be between anything other than a man and a woman. Shen mentions that some ministers and rabbis are performing ceremonies for homosexuals, but fails to concede that that does not mean that Christianity (which includes both Catholicism and Protestantism) and Judaism consider gay marriage permissible.

The article also goes on to blame our culture for not allowing homosexual marriage: "For at least 2,000 years, Western societies have considered lifelong marriage between one man and one woman to be the ideal arrangement for families and children." ("Why the reference to the last 2,000 years?" you ask. Well, what significant religious event happened 2,000 years ago and serves as the basis of one of the world greatest religions? Hint: see The Passion. Guess she couldn't help getting that dig in there.)

As KidsPost criticizes Western Civilization and the United States' Judeo-Christian heritage in its own ways, it argues (subtlety, of course) for a change in the law. How? By letting Justin's fellow 10-year-olds know that he told Maryland lawmakers his feelings about letting his moms get married, and that he thinks "if his parents and others like them could marry" then "maybe people would see that his family is like any other."

Interestingly, Fern Shen fails to mention that most Americans not only are "uncomfortable" with same-sex marriage, but still oppose it by a margin of almost 2-to-1, as revealed by a recent Gallup report titled "Opposition to Legalized Same-Sex Marriage Steady."

So, since liberals like those at the Post can't get most adult Americans on their side by presenting some sort of reasoned debate, they are going after their kids.

If only they can get the kids to buy into it . . .

copyright 2004 Human Events