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Courage - Glenn Gullickson, Echo Magazine Managing Editor

 Glenn Gullickson
Glenn Gullickson, Managing Editor of Echo Magazine

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Glenn Gullickson write in Echo Magazine, January 30, 2014, "With the Winter Olympics in the spotlight, the LGBT community watches Sochi, Russia, and wonders if athletes will make a courageous gesture in support of LGBT rights in a country where laws oppress the gay community.

It's another reminder that despite some shortcomings, Americans are part of a pretty great system that's sometimes taken for granted. It's a system that still needs improvement, but it offers methods to make changes.

But even at home it still takes courage to stand up for LGBT rights.

For example, take the four Arizona couples who recently filed a lawsuit challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage. They haven't been LGBT activists, but seeing little progress on the issues locally they thought it was time to get Arizona in the game and exercised rights available to any American.

 Echo Magazine Article
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In the days after the lawsuit was filed, they were featured prominently in the local media, and in an instant went from being private individuals to public personas putting themselves on the line for a cause they believe in. They had to be willing to endure the negative comments that all too frequently show up on blogs reacting to the news of the day. These four couples deserve the support of the Arizona LGBT community.

Despite the tremendous strides that have been made during the last couple of years, there are many examples of the courage it can take to be openly gay.

Youth still show courage by coming out at the risk of being thrown out of their homes by unsupportive parents.

Workers still show courage by coming out at the risk of being fired by discriminatory employers.

Couples still show courage by coming out at the risk of not being able to obtain housing or other services.

Progressive legislators in Arizona show courage by standing up to a conservative majority that would restrict LGBT rights.

Activists and allies show courage by leading the way in the frontlines of the fight for equality.

So while the Olympics will spotlight the struggles of the LGBT community in Russia, we continue to work for the day when it won't take so much courage just to be ourselves here at home."

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Same-Sex Marriage and ChildrenSame-Sex Marriage and Children is the first book to bring together historical, social science, and legal considerations to comprehensively respond to the objections to same-sex marriage that are based on the need to promote so-called "responsible procreation" and child welfare. Carlos A. Ball places the current marriage debates within a broader historical context by exploring how the procreative and child welfare claims used to try to deny same-sex couples the opportunity to marry are similar to earlier arguments used to defend interracial marriage bans, laws prohibiting disabled individuals from marrying, and the differential treatment of children born out of wedlock. Ball also draws a link between welfare reform and same-sex marriage bans by explaining how conservative proponents have defended both based on the need for the government to promote responsible procreation among heterosexuals. 

In addition, Ball examines the social science studies relied on by opponents of same-sex marriage and explains in a highly engaging and accessible way why they do not support the contention that biological status and parental gender matter when it comes to parenting. He also explores the relevance of the social science studies on the children of lesbians and gay men to the question of whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. In doing so, the book looks closely at the gay marriage cases that recently reached the Supreme Court and explains why the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans cannot be defended on the basis that maintaining marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution helps to promote the best interests of children. Same-Sex Marriage and Children will help lawyers, law professors, judges, legislators, social and political scientists, historians, and child welfare officials-as well as general readers interested in matters related to marriage and families-understand the empirical and legal issues behind the intersection of same-sex marriage and children's welfare.
© 2014 Arizona Equality