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Learn who, what, how...
Who we are:
The plaintiff couples here in Arizona are a slice of Americana. We are men and women, parents, foster parents, children of supportive and not so supportive parents, brothers and sisters. We are democrats, independents and republicans. We are your colleagues at work and we work in varied professions. We are not activists. We have all been quietly living our lives as loving couples and families in relative obscurity until we decided we needed to take action to simply "right a wrong". Our case is about granting equal marriage rights to all. We are not seeking financial compensation or damages in this lawsuit, that's just not who we are.
How your contribution will be used:
This contribution will help defray the costs associated with the entire legal process. Any donations will be used to pay for legal fees associated with our case. In the event there are residual funds at the end of litigation, the plaintiff couples will donate any residual funds to another Marriage Equality cause in another state or to a GLBTQ cause chosen by the plaintiff couples.
What a successful outcome will mean:
A successful outcome to our litigation will benefit all people in the State of Arizona, those who believe in Marriage Equality and even those that do not. This case will make Arizona a better place. Indirectly you are also helping your friends, family and colleagues in other states in our great county. A win in Arizona will help plaintiffs in states that have not yet started the marriage equality process in their home states. If the Arizona case is successful, our case will encourage others to challenge discriminatory laws in their states and have the Arizona case as a legal point of reference.
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 Same-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.
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