Last Updated: Thursday, October 18, 2007 10:15 AM CDT
Same-sex marriage debated at Nicolet
by Heather Schaefer - Daily News Regional Editor - hschaefer@rhinelanderdailynews.com
Marriage is about hope.
That was the opinion of one man attending a debate at Nicolet College Wednesday evening between leading gay rights activist Dr. John Corvino and Glenn Stanton, a senior analyst for the conservative organization Focus on the Family.
While the guest speakers focused primarily on how same-sex marriage would affect children being raised by gay parents, members of the audience asked questions about how a ban on same-sex marriage affects gay and lesbian youth.
“Gay and lesbian young people need to know that their relationships can lead somewhere,” said the audience member, adding that it is “deeply dehumanizing” for gay youth to know that they cannot express their love for their partners in the same way heterosexual couples can.
Stanton, on the other hand, argued that same-sex marriage is a “vast untested social experiment” that may well have long-term negative effects on children.
In support of his arguments, Stanton quoted various studies which he said show that the most optimal setting for raising children is the heterosexual marriage of the child's biological parents.
Stanton said same-sex marriage diminishes parenthood to the contribution of either sperm or an egg and argued it's unclear at this point whether sons raised by lesbian partners or daughters brought up by gay men may end up having gender identity issues.
In support of this argument, he cited an online community of lesbian mothers who sell a T-shirt that says “My Daddy's name is donor.”
Corvino, and many members of the audience, challenged Stanton's opinions.
Corvino said he doesn't understand why opponents of gay marriage focus on what might happen to hypothetical children and ignore the needs of actual children currently being raised by gay couples.
In support of his argument, he cited examples of gay couples he knows who are raising children and asked the audience whether those children wouldn't be better off if their parents were allowed to marry and could have all the same benefits as heterosexual couples.
Corvino also argued that gay marriage would not take anything away from heterosexual marriage and would actually strengthen society.
“Allowing gay people to marry would take no more away from straight couples than allowing women to vote took anything away from men,” he said.
He also said gay parents frequently go out of their way to make sure their children have role models of both sexes and argued that being heterosexual does not necessarily automatically make a person a good parent.
After all, he said, “we allowed Britney Spears to get married twice.”
The two also disagreed on whether people are born gay and whether it's possible to undergo conversion therapy and change from homosexual to heterosexual.
The debate ended with both men thanking the audience for their questions and expressing hope that future discussions on same-sex marriage will continue to be both rigorous and respectful.
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In the pool: For the last 10 years, Rhinelander's Jenna Vanden Heuvel has grown up in the swimming pool. The senior started swimming for the club team in second grade and this year she is a tri-captain for the Hodags varsity squad. This will be Vanden Heuvel's last year swimming competitively, however, because she'll be headed to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire next fall. She thought about swimming in college, but decided against it. “It was back and forth for a while,” said Vanden Heuvel. “I want to be able to come home and visit my family and friends more often.” Vanden Heuvel also played soccer -- in which she was named ‘Most Improved' two seasons ago -- for the first three years of the high school career, but she won't go out for this year's team because she wants to work and save up money for college. READ MORE >
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