When President Obama announced his support for marriage equality, I was only one of numerous writers who pointed out that he stressed the influence of same-sex parents and their children on his decision. Here are two worthwhile articles that explain why Obama’s positioning of his statement in this way is especially significant.
Lesbian mom Rose Arce of CNN has a lovely post that weaves together President Obama’s statement on marriage; his speech at Barnard College (Arce’s alma mater); the college’s award to Evan Wolfson, head of Freedom to Marry, at the same event; generational changes; and her hopes for her daughter.
The New York Times’ Kenji Yoshino, in a well-reasoned piece that I mentioned in my Mother’s Day roundup, writes, “Traditionally, the well-being of children has appeared squarely on the other side of the ledger, functioning as the prime secular argument against same-sex marriage.” Now, Obama has “used the largest bully pulpit in the nation to assert that concern for children is a reason to support, rather than to oppose, same-sex marriage.”
Of course, same-sex parents have been raising kids successfully for decades without the benefit of marriage. Some may choose not to get married even if it is legal for them. But just because it may not be strictly necessary, doesn’t mean it isn’t good, fair, and right to have the option.
