The effect of gay marriage on children
There are by conservative estimates anywhere from six to fourteen million children living in gay and lesbian homes (Patterson, “Children of lesbian,” 1026). Gay marriage is a recent phenomenon and is still not legal in many states. There is however, a general view that children who are raised in homosexual families are at a disadvantage when compared to heterosexual families. At present, the empirical evidence does not support this view. The development of children in lesbian and gay marriages is the same as for children in heterosexual marriages (Patterson, “Children of Lesbian,” 1025). Gay marriage has no detrimental effect on children.
Gay marriage is not a prevalent relationship type. Most state have not legalized gay marriage and the furor surrounding gay marriage is very pervasive. Consequently, the quantum of research done on gay marriage is limited. Thus, for the purposes of this essay while the focus will be on gay marriages, generous consideration will be given to other types of gay and lesbian unions where there are children. The legitimization of gay unions through the legal process has a limited influence on the home conditions under which children live. It is therefore reasonable to presume that civil unions and cohabiting gay couples are adequate approximations for gay marriages.
A child’s home environment has a significant impact on the development of the child (Stevens Jr. 233). The homes that result from gay marriages are often presented as being inferior to heterosexual homes. The underlying theory suggests that parental influences hold a primary place in the psychological and social development of the child. The homes created through gay marriage, brings together persons of the same sex. This same sex arrangement should produce differences in the environment of the home that are significant enough to be observed in the development of the child.
There is a concern that the same sex nature of the...