Supporting family values

[avram]

Here’s a PDF copy of the text of the Goodridge vs. Department of Public Health decision, the Massachusetts state supreme court case requiring the legislature to accommodate the marriage rights of gay couples. Hosted by a pro-bigotry group; sorry, it’s what I could find. Go drive up their bandwidth bill.

Some opponents of the freedom to marry have couched their arguments in terms of support for families, or the claim that marriage rights should be limited to couples capable of reproducing. Here’s an excerpt from the decision, describing the plaintiffs, with some key phrases emphasized by me:

The plaintiffs are fourteen individuals from five Massachusetts counties. As of April 11, 2001, the date they filed their complaint, the plaintiffs Gloria Bailey, sixty years old, and Linda Davies, fifty-five years old, had been in a committed relationship for thirty years; the plaintiffs Maureen Brodoff, forty-nine years old, and Ellen Wade, fifty-two years old, had been in a committed relationship for twenty years and lived with their twelve year old daughter; the plaintiffs Hillary Goodridge, forty-four years old, and Julie Goodridge, forty-three years old, had been in a committed relationship for thirteen years and lived with their five year old daughter; the plaintiffs Gary Chalmers, thirty-five years old, and Richard Linnell, thirty-seven years old, had been in a committed relationship for thirteen years and lived with their eight year old daughter and Richard's mother; the plaintiffs Heidi Norton, thirty-six years old, and Gina Smith, thirty-six years old, had been in a committed relationship for eleven years and lived with their two sons, ages five years and one year; the plaintiffs Michael Horgan, forty-one years old, and David Balmelli, forty-one years old, had been in a committed relationship for seven years; and the plaintiffs David Wilson, fifty-seven years old, and Robert Compton, fifty-one years old, had been in a committed relationship for four years and had cared for David's mother in their home after a serious illness until she died.

If you find yourself arguing with someone who tries to disguise his anti-gay bigotry with pro-family rhetoric, ask why he would rather have these five children raised by single parents than by loving married couples.

Update: Here’s another link to the PDF, from FindLaw, in case you don’t want to drive up some bigot’s bandwidth bill. And here it is in Microsoft Word format.