Regarding Sen. Rick Santorum's opposition to same-sex marriage on the grounds that marriage is "not about adults; it's about the kids" (Patricia Sheridan's "Breakfast With Rick Santorum," Sept. 5), does it need to be pointed out -- yet again -- that Santorum's faulty logic suggests marriage should not be legal also for heterosexual couples past their child-bearing years, or for heterosexual couples who cannot or may choose not to have children?

Fair treatment should not depend on how much a family unit resembles a traditional heterosexual model. Committed gay and lesbian couples should be afforded equal rights simply because discrimination is wrong.

Jeff Howells, South Side

Letter to the Editor, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Sep 8, 2005

Same-sex marriage

So U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum feels that permitting same-sex couples to obtain civil marriage licenses would "tear [heterosexual civil marriage] apart -- rip it at the foundation" (Patricia Sheridan's "Breakfast with Rick Santorum," Sept. 5). Where is the evidence to support that provocative assertion?

The homosexual part of the adult population comprises only 2 to 5 percent of the total, according to most scientific estimates. How could making a legal relationship option available to such a small proportion of the total population have any impact whatsoever on the other 95 to 98 percent majority?

Such a fear ignores how young people fall in love and make decisions about marriage. The strongest predictors for young people entering civil marriage are quality of the parents' marriage and economic pressures. If young people feel economically distressed, or that their economic prospects are at risk or limited, they often decide not to marry.

Sen. Santorum's economic policies have actually weakened working-class families and reduced the attractiveness of civil marriage. It is precisely in the working class that civil marriage has experienced its greatest decline in this country. A better strategy would be for Sen. Santorum and the Republicans to design policies that will bring out the best in people, rather than the worst.

Gay and lesbian families are becoming more and more like the mainstream model -- all the more reason for these families to be recognized and protected by government.

Scott Weber, Shaler

Letter to the editor, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Sep 13, 2005

Back to Home