Arizona Equality Official Website tracking the progress of the complaint
filed against the State of Arizona on January 6, 2014,
for Marriage Equality.

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Arizona: Marriage Ban Wasn't Meant to Harm Gay Couples


 Terry Pochert and Joe Connolly

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE ONLINE

The lawyers say the laws barring same-sex couples from marrying in Arizona were not made out of malice, but to protect children and the sanctity of marriages.

Michelle Garcia writes for the Advocate on July 27, 2014, "Attorneys defending Arizona's marriage ban for same-sex couples claim the law was not instituted out of malice, but as a means to protect the marriages of heterosexual couples and their children.

The state hired lawyers from the antigay organization, the Alliance Defending Freedom, to defend the marriage ban in two lawsuits. The organization has led the defenses in other marriage cases in Oklahoma and Virginia, according to The Arizona Republic. They filed the final arguments for one case last week. ..."

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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