Leaders of the 2012 Republican Natl Convention Committee Amicus Brief

8/9/2019 Leaders of the 2012 Republican Natl Convention Committee Amicus Brief

1/58

____________

____________

____________

____________

Nos.14-556,14-562,14-571,14-574

InThe

SupremeCourtoftheUnitedStates

JAMESOBERGEFELL,ETAL., Petitioners,

v.

RICHARDHODGES,ETAL.,Respondents.

OnWritsofCertioraritotheUnitedStatesCourtof

AppealsfortheSixthCircuit

AmicusCuriaeBriefofLeadersofthe2012

RepublicanNationalConventionCommitteeon

thePlatformandOthersSupportingRespon

dents

JamesBopp,Jr.

Counsel of Record

AnitaY.Milanovich

THEBOPPL AWFIRM,PC

THEN ATIONALBUILDING

1South6thStreet

TerreHaute,IN47807-3510

812/232-2434(telephone)

812/235-3685(facsimile)

[email protected](email)

April2,2015 (add’lcounseloninsidecover)

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


2/58

RobertJCrookshankNewValleyForgePart

ners,LLC

P.O.Box470911

Tulsa,OK73071

MichaelP.LaffeyMessinaLawFirmP.C.

961HolmdelRoadHolmdelNJ07733

732/332-9300(telephone)

732/332-9301(fascimile)


3/58

QuestionPresented

Whether the State has a sufficiently important

interestinpromotingtraditionalmarriagebetweenone

man and one woman when traditional marriage

supportstraditionalfamilies,whicharethefoundation

ofafreesociety.

(i)


4/58

TableofContentsTableofAuthorities..................................................iv

StatementofInterest. ................................................1

SummaryofArgument..............................................3

Argument....................................................................6

I. TheRepublicanPartySupportsTraditional

MarriageBecausetheTraditionalFamilyIs

theFoundationofaFreeSociety..................9

A. The Traditional Family Guards AgainstPovertyandtheNeedFortheGrowthofthe

WelfareState...........................................15

B. The Traditional Family Protects Against

TyrannyAndGovernmentExcess..........20

II. TraditionalMarriageEnsuresAFreeSociety

ByProtectingtheTraditionalFamily........21

A. TraditionalFamilyIsStable,Independent,

Self-SupportingandSelf-Sufficient,Repli

catingItselfIndefinitely.........................21

B. Traditional Marriage Offers Unique FeaturesThatReinforceTheStrengthofTradi

tionalFamily...........................................22

C. Traditional Marriage Benefits Husbands,

Wives and Mothers, Children, and

Society......................................................24

1. MothersBenefit from TraditionalMar

riage.....................................................25

2. Men Benefit FromTraditional

Marriage..............................................25

(ii)


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3. ChildrenBenefitFromTraditionalMarriage.....................................................27

4. SocietyBenefitsFromTraditionalMar

riage.....................................................30

III. The Traditional Family Is Undermined By

LegalRecognitionofSame-SexMarriage.. 31

A. The History of the Same-SexMarriage

Movement.. ..............................................31

B. The Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage

RequiresaRedefinitionofMarriage......34

C. Same-SexMarriageDoesNotProvide theSameBenefitsasTraditional

Marriage..................................................36

D. The Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage

DoesNotPromoteMarriage...................40

Conclusion................................................................41

(iii)


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TableofAuthoritiesCases

Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, 798

N.E.2d941(Mass.2003)....................................33

Lofton v. Secretary of the Department of Children and

Family Services XI , 358 F.3d 804 (11th Cir.

2004)...................................................................30

Loving v. Virginia, 388U.S.1(1967)..............22n.10

Reno v. Flores, 507U.S.292(1993)...........................7

Washington v. Glucksberg ,521U.S.702(1997)......7

Constitution, Statutes, Regulations & Rules

U.S.Const.amendXIV.................................... passim

Other Authorities

A Conversation with Ruth Bader Ginsburg , 56 The

Record of the Association of the Bar of the City of

New York 8(Winter2001).................................24

ABC News Primetime Live Poll: The American SexS u r v e y ( 2 0 0 4 ) , a v a i l a b l e a t

http://abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/959a1Ame

ricanSexSurvey.pdf........................................... 23

Anders Agell, Family Forms and Legal Policies, A

Comparative View from a Swedish Observer,

Stockholm Institute for Scandinavian Law

(1998)..........................................................36n.13

(iv)

http://abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/959a1Amehttp://abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/959a1Ame


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AndreaMrozek,The Status of Men: Boys Are Lagging.How Does The Decline of Marriage Play A Role?,

InstituteofMarriageandFamilyCanada,avail

able at http://www.imfcanada.org/sites/default/

files/StatusOfMen_Nov2010_Final_web.

pdf...............................................................26n.11

Aristotle,The Politics of Aristotle(1997).................30

ArthurGoldberg,Light In The Closet(2008)..38n.16

Austin Ruse, Legendary Gay Designers Oppose Gay

Marriage, Gay Parenting, Surrogacy, Breitbart( M a r . 1 4 , 2 0 1 5 ) , a v a i l a b l e a t

http:/ /www.breitbart.com/big-government/

2015/03/14/legendary-gay-designers-oppose-gay

marriage-gay-parenting-surrogacy/..................39

Beyond Same-Sex Marriage: A New Strategic Vision for

All Our Families and Relationships,

beyondmarriage.org, at http://www.beyond

marriage.org/......................................................36

BryceChristensen,Time for A New ‘Moynihan Report’?Confronting the National Family Crisis, The

Family inAmerica,Vol. 18, No. 10 (Oct.2004),

available at http://profam.org/pub/fia/fia_1810.

html........................................................17,18,29

ChristopherCarrington,No Place Like Home: Relation

ships and Family Life among Lesbians and Gay

Men (1999)..........................................................33

(v)

http://www.imfcanada.org/sites/defaulthttp://www.breitbart.com/big-governmenthttp:///reader/full/beyondmarriage.orghttp://www.beyond/http:///reader/full/marriage.orghttp://profam.org/pub/fia/fia_1810http://www.imfcanada.org/sites/defaulthttp://www.breitbart.com/big-governmenthttp:///reader/full/beyondmarriage.orghttp://www.beyond/http:///reader/full/marriage.orghttp://profam.org/pub/fia/fia_1810


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ChristopherR.Berry&JacobE.Gersen, Representation Without Taxation: The Fiscal Consequences of

Electoral Institutions,AmericanLaw&Economics

AssociationAnnualMeetings(2007),available at

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/files/344.pdf .......14

David P. McWhirter, Andrew Mattison, The Male

Couple: How Relationships Develop 150

(1984)..................................................................38

First comes love, then comes marriage . . . tying the knot

before first baby is a key ingredient for marriage

success, Marriage Foundation (Mar. 9 2015),

http://www.marriagefoundation.org.uk/Web/New

s/News.aspx?news=179&RedirectUrl=%2FWeb%

2FContent%2FDefault.aspx%3FContent%

3D440.................................................................25

Frances Kelly, Shifty Words: What does “marriage

equality” actually mean?, Mercatornet (Feb. 5,

2012), at http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/

view/shifty_words...................................................24

FrankMain,The Most Dangerous Block In Chicago,

ChicagoSunTimes(Oct.31,2014)....................19

GeorgeA.Akerlof,Explorations in Pragmatic Econom

ics: Select Papers of George A. Akerlof (2005)...27

GeorgeGilder,Men and Marriage(1986)...............26

GunnarAndersson, Divorce-Risk Patterns in Same-Sex

“Marriage” in Norway and Sweden (Nov. 2004),

available at http://www.uni-koeln.de/wiso-fak/fisoz/

conference/papers/p_andersson.pdf...................37

(vi)

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/files/344.pdfhttp://www.marriagefoundation.org.uk/Web/Newhttp://www.mercatornet.com/articleshttp://www.uni-koeln.de/wiso-fak/fisozhttp://www.uni-koeln.de/wiso-fak/fisozhttp://www.law.uchicago.edu/files/344.pdfhttp://www.marriagefoundation.org.uk/Web/Newhttp://www.mercatornet.com/articleshttp://www.uni-koeln.de/wiso-fak/fisoz


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Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism(1951)..................................................................21

HarryBenson,Get married BEFORE you have chil

dren, MarriageFoundation(March2015),available

at http://www.marriagefoundation.org.uk/

Shared/Uploads/Products/15035_MF%20paper%20

%20Get%20married%20before%20children.

pdf.......................................................................21

HeatherBarwick, Dear Gay Community: Your Kids Are

Hurting , The Federalist (Mar. 17, 2015),

http://thefederalist.com/2015/03/17/dear-gay

community-your-kids-are-hurting/....................29

How Do Fathers Fit In?,Civitas:TheInstituteforthe

Study of Civil Society, http://www.civitas.

org.uk/hwu/fathers.php...............................28,29

JenniferMorse,Love and Economics(2008).....30,34

JulieShapiro,Reflections on Complicity,8N.Y.CityL.

Rev.657(2005)............................................32,33

KayS.Hymowitz,The Black Family: 40 Years of Lies,

City Journal (Summer 2005), available at

http://www.city-journal.org/html/15_3_black _

family.html....................................................16-17

KristinAndersonMoore,SusanM.Jekielek,andCarol

Emig,Marriage from a Child’s Perspective: How

Does Family Structure Affect Children, and What

Can We Do About It?, ChildTrendsChild Research

Brief (June2002)................................................28

(vii)

http://www.marriagefoundation.org.uk/http://thefederalist.com/2015/03/17/dear-gayhttp://www.civitas/http://www.city-journal.org/html/15_3_blackhttp://www.marriagefoundation.org.uk/http://thefederalist.com/2015/03/17/dear-gayhttp://www.civitas/http://www.city-journal.org/html/15_3_black


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LeslieBennetts,First Lady in Waiting ,VanityFair( D e c . 2 0 0 7 ) , a v a i l a b l e a t

h t t p : / / w w w . v a n i t y f a i r . c o m / n e w s / 2 0 0 7/

12/michelle_obama200712................................18

MarkRegnerus, Yes, Marriage Will Change–and Here’s

How,The WitherspoonInstitute (June7,2013),

available at http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/

2013/06/10325/...................................................38

MariaXiridou,The Contribution of Steady and Casual

Partnerships to the Incidence of Aids, 7Aids1029

(2003)..................................................................37

Marriage: America’s Number 1 Weapon Against Child

Pover ty , T he H e ri ta ge Fo unda ti o n,

http://www.heritage.org/childpoverty/united-states

(lastvisitedMarch31,2015).......................15,25

MichaelFumento, Is The Great Society to Blame? If

Not, Why Have Problems Worsened Since ‘60s?,

Investor’sBus.Daily(June19,1992),available at

http://fumento.com/economy/greatsociety.html.16

MichaelW.Weiderman,Extramarital Sex: Prevalence

and Correlates In A National Survey, 32TheJ.of

SexResearch167(1997)....................................23

Nadia Haris, Role of Fathers in Child Rearing ,

http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/role-fathers

child-rearing-3454.html.....................................29

NanD.Hunter,Sex Wars: Sexual Dissent and Political

Culture (2006)....................................................34

(viii)

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007http:///reader/full/http://www.thepublicdiscourse.comhttp://www.heritage.org/childpoverty/united-stateshttp://fumento.com/economy/greatsociety.htmlhttp://everydaylife.globalpost.com/role-fathershttp://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007http:///reader/full/http://www.thepublicdiscourse.comhttp://www.heritage.org/childpoverty/united-stateshttp://fumento.com/economy/greatsociety.htmlhttp://everydaylife.globalpost.com/role-fathers


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NancyD.Polikoff,We Will Get What We Ask For: WhyLegalizing Gay And Lesbian Marriage Will Not

“Dismantle The Legal Structure Of Gender In Every

Marriage,” 79Va.L.Rev.1535(1993).........32-33

NannetteGartrell,HenryBos,andNaomiGoldberg,

Adolescents of the U.S. National Longitudinal

Lesbian Family Study: Sexual Orientation, Sex

ual Behavior, and Sexual Risk Exposure, 40Ar

chivesofSex.Behav.1199(2011)......................37

NationalCenterforHealthStatistics,Centersfor

DiseaseControl,Forty –Three Percent of First

Marriages Break up Within 15 years, at

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/releases/01news/first

marr.html...................................................37n.14

NicolaBarker,Not the Marrying Kind: A Feminist

Critique of Same-Sex Marriage(2012)..............34

PatriciaMoranandAllanBarclay,Effects of Fathers’

Absence in Delinquent Boys: Dependency and

Hypermasculinity,62PsychologicalReports115

(1988).................................................................29

PatrickMoynihan,The Negro Family: The Case For

National Action,UnitedStatesDepartmentof

Labor(1965),available at http://www.dol.gov/

dol/aboutdol/history/webid-moynihan.html......16

PeterFrank,Marriage and the Family: The Social

and Economic Costs(2012),http://www.jesse

helmscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/

06/Marriage-and-the-Family.pdf.......7,24,30,34

(ix)

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/releases/01news/firsthttp:///reader/full/http://www.dol.govhttp://www.jesse/http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/releases/01news/firsthttp:///reader/full/http://www.dol.govhttp://www.jesse/


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RedDawn,Lesbian Couple+Husband+Two babies=Completely Normal? Alrighty Then, ChicksOn

TheRight(Mar.13,2015),athttp://chicksonthe

right.com/blog/item/27790-lesbian-couple-hus

bandtwo-babies-completely-normal-family

alrighty-then......................................................35

RepublicanNationalCommittee,Resolution for Mar

riage and Children (April12,2013),available at

https://cdn.gop.com/docs/Resolution_for_Marriage

_and_Children_2013.pdf...................................13

RepublicanNationalCommittee,Resolution Support

ing Core Values of the 2012 Republican Platform

(April12,2013),available athttp://cdn.gop.com/

docs/Resolution_Supporting_Core_Values_of_the

_2012_Republican_Platform.pdf..................12-13

RepublicanNationalCommittee,RNC Resolution

Defending Traditional Marriage (Aug.22,2012)

available at http://cdn.gop.com/docs/2012 _

Summer-Meeting_Resolutions.pdf...................12

RobertRectorandRachelSheffield,The War on Pov

erty After 50 Years,TheHeritageFoundation

(Sept.152014),available at http://www.heritage.

org/research/reports/2014/09/the-war-on

poverty-after-50-years.......................................20

RulesoftheRepublicanParty,available at http://

www.gop.com/rules-and-resolutions/..........11n.5

(x)

http://chicksonthe/https://cdn.gop.com/docs/Resolution_for_Marriagehttp:///reader/full/http://cdn.gop.comhttp://cdn.gop.com/docs/2012http://www.heritage/http://www.gop.com/rules-and-resolutionshttp://chicksonthe/https://cdn.gop.com/docs/Resolution_for_Marriagehttp:///reader/full/http://cdn.gop.comhttp://cdn.gop.com/docs/2012http://www.heritage/http://www.gop.com/rules-and-resolutions


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RyanT.Anderson,Marriage Matters: Consequencesof Redefining Marriage,TheHeritageFounda

tion(March18,2013),available at http://www.

heritage.org/research/reports/2013/03/why

marriage-matters-consequences-of-redefining

marriage............................................27-28,31,35

RyanT.Anderson,Marriage: What It Is,Why It Mat

ters, and the Consequences of Redefining It(Mar.

11,2013),available athttp://www.heritage.org/

research/reports/2013/03/marriage-what-it-is

why-it-matters-and-the-consequences-of-redefining-it...............................................................31,35

RyanT.Anderson, Monogamy, Exclusivity, and Per

manence?,TheHeritageFoundation(Dec.13,

2012),available at http://www.heritage.org/

research/commentary/2012/12/monogamy

exclusivity-and-permanence..............................23

SherifGirgis,RyanT.Anderson,RobertP.George,

What is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense

(2012)..................................................................22

StephanieCoontz, Marriage, A History: From Obedi

ence to Intimacy, or How Love Conquered Mar

riage(2005)........................................................25

StephenEliotSmith, Barbarians within the Gates:

Congressional Debates on Mormon Polygamy,

1850-1879 ,51J.Church&State587(Autumn

2009).............................................................10n.4

SuzanneA.Kim,Skeptical Marriage Equality,34

Harv.J.L.Gender37(2011)................31n.12,32

(xi)

http://www/http:///reader/full/http://www.heritage.orghttp:///reader/full/http://www.heritage.orghttp://www/http:///reader/full/http://www.heritage.orghttp:///reader/full/http://www.heritage.org


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TheAmericanPresidencyProject,Republican Party Platform of 1856 (June18,1856),available at

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid

=29619.............................................................9-10

TheAmericanPresidencyProject,Republican Party

Platform of 1868 (May20,1868),available at


=29622..........................................................10,15

AmericanPresidencyProject,Republican Party Plat

form of 1900 (June19,1900),available at

http://www.presidency.uscb.edu/ws/?pid

=29630................................................................15


Platform of 1920 (June8,1920),available at


=29635................................................................10


Platform of 1944 (June26,1944),available at


=25835................................................................10


Platform of 1956 (Aug.20,1956),available at


=25838................................................................10


Platform of 1960 (July25,1960),available at


=25839................................................................10

(xii)

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.uscb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.uscb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid


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TheAmericanPresidencyProject,Republican Party Platform of 1964 (July13,1964),available at


=25840................................................................10




=25841..........................................................10,15




=25842................................................................10




=25843..................................................................7




=25844................................................................10




=25845..................................................................8


Platform of 1988 (Aug.161988),available at


=25846................................................................10

(xiii)

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid


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TheAmericanPresidencyProject,Republican Party Platform of 1992 (Aug.17,1992),available at


=25847........................................................8,9,10




=25848..........................................................10,11




=25849......................................................8,10,11




=25850................................................................11


Platform of 2008 (Sept.1,2008),available at


=78545................................................................11




=101961..........................................................8,11

TomW.Smith, American Sexual Behavior: Trends,

Socio-Demographic Differences, and Risk Behav

ior (2006)available athttp://www.norc.org/

PDFs/Publications/AmericanSexualBehavior

2006.pdf..............................................................23

(xiv)

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp:///reader/full/http://www.norc.orghttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pidhttp:///reader/full/http://www.norc.org


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Will fewer straight people marry if gay people can?,FullFact.Org(Dec.12,2012),https://fullfact.org/

factchecks/same_sex_marriage_rate_heterosexua

l_straight_gay-28656....................................39-40

WilliamPollock,Real Boys: Rescuing our Sons from

the Myths of Boyhood(1998)..............................31

WilliamScottandAmyDeLaHunt,The Important

Role of Fathers in the Lives of Young Children,

ParentasTeachers(lastupdatedNov.16,2011),

available at http://www.parentsasteachers.

org/images/stories/documents/Fatherhood_Resou

rces/ImportantRoleofFathers.pdf......................28

Young, Black, and Male in America: An Endangered

Species(1988).....................................................29

(xv)

http:///reader/full/FullFact.Orghttp:///reader/full/https://fullfact.orghttp://www.parentsasteachers/http:///reader/full/FullFact.Orghttp:///reader/full/https://fullfact.orghttp://www.parentsasteachers/


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1

StatementofInterest1

AmiciCuriaearemembersoftheleadershipofthe

2012RepublicanNationalConventionCommitteeon

the Platform: Co-Chairman of the Committee Con

gresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Co-

ChairmenoftheSubcommitteeswithjurisdictionover

marriageandfamilyJamesBopp,Jr.(Subcommittee

on We the People: A Restoration of Constitutional

Government)andCarolynMcLarty(Subcommitteeon

Renewing American Values to Build Healthy Families,Great Schools and Safe Neighborhoods).

AmicusCongresswomanMarshaBlackburnserved

as Co-Chairman of the 2012 Republican National

Convention Committee on the Platform. Congress

womanBlackmanisasmall-businesswoman,author,

wife,mother,grandmotherandformerTennesseeState

SenatorfromWilliamsonCounty,Tennessee. Shehas

servedastheCongresswomanfromthe7thCongressio

nalDistrictofTennesseesince2002.

AmicusJamesBopp,Jr.servedasCo-ChairmanoftheSubcommitteeonWe the People: A Restoration of

Constitutional Government of the 2012 Republican

NationalConventionCommitteeonthePlatform.Mr.

BoppisapracticingattorneywithTheBoppLawFirm

1 NocounselforapartyauthoredthisBriefinwholeorin

part,andnocounselorpartymadeamonetarycontribution

intended to fund the preparation or submission of this

Brief.Nopersonotherthanamicicuriae,itsmembers,or

itscounsel madea monetary contributionto this Brief’spreparationorsubmission.Theparties’counselofrecord

receivedtimely notice of Amici’s intent to file thisbrief

pursuanttoRule37(a)andhaveconsentedtoitsfiling.


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2

in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was a member of the

RepublicanNationalCommitteefrom2006to2012and

was electedasRNC Vice-Chairman, 2008-2012.He

wasChairmanoftheConservativeSteeringCommittee

from2008to2011andwasamemberoftheRepubli

canNationalConventionCommitteeonthePlatform

in2000,2004,2008and2012.

AmicusCarolynMcLarty,DVMservedasCo-Chair

man of the Subcommittee on Renewing American

Values to Build Healthy Families, Great Schools andSafe Neighborhoods ofthe2012RepublicanNational

ConventionCommitteeonthePlatform.Dr.McLarty

isaretiredveterinarianfromWoodward,Oklahoma.

ShehasbeenamemberoftheRepublicanNational

Committeesince2008.Shehasservedasanelected

memberofRNCStandingCommitteeonResolutions

since2009andasitsChairmansince2012.Shehas

beenChairmanoftheConservativeSteeringCommit

teesince2011.ShewasamemberoftheRepublican

NationalConvention CommitteeonthePlatform in

2012.

Amicus Conservative Steering Committee is an

independentorganizationofcurrentmembersofthe

RepublicanNationalCommittee.Itmeetsregularlyin

conjunctionwiththemeetingsoftheRNCtodiscuss

issuesofimportancetotheRepublicanPartyandits

members TheSteeringCommitteeiscurrentlymade

upofamajorityofthemembersoftheRNCandthey

votedtoapprovesubmissionofthisAmiciCuriaeBrief

totheCourt.

Amici Curiae respectfully submit this Brief insupportofthestates’importantinterestinprotecting

andpromotingtraditionalmarriageandfamilyasthe


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3

foundationofafreesociety.

SummaryoftheArgument

TheRepublicanPartyhassoughttoprotectand

promotetraditionalmarriageandfamilyasthefoun

dationofafreesociety,sincethesuccessoftraditional

familiesminimizestheneedforgovernmentprograms

andinterventionandbecausetraditionalfamiliesform

abulwarkagainstthegrowthofgovernmentandits

excesses.Asaresult,manystateshaveprotectedand

promoted traditional marriage in pursuit of

thisimportantgovernmentinterest,oftenwithbiparti

san support, and their laws that do so are

therebyconstitutional.

Sinceitsinception,theRepublicanPartyhasbeen

the champion of equality, individual freedom and

limited government and, asa result, of the family.

Since 1856 and throughout its history, as demon

stratedin its Party'sPlatform and Resolutions,the

RepublicanPartyhassoughttostrengthentraditional

marriageandfamily,byprotectingitagainstvariousthreats that have arisen that wouldundermine the

traditionalmarriageandfamily,includingpolygamy,

deathoffathers(ineverywarorconflictsincetheCivil

War),lossofcitizenshipforAmericanwomenmarrying

immigrant men, welfare programs that erodes and

discourages family formation and continu

ation, nationalized compulsory health insurance,

abortion,themarriagetax,pornography,anddivorce.

Furthermore,theRepublicanPartyhassupported

effortstostrengthentraditionalmarriageandfamily,suchasbysupportingequalpayforworkersregardless

ofsex,protectingAmerica’sfarmingfamilies,support


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4

inghousingforlow-incomefamilies,supportingadop

tion,parentalauthorityandresponsibility,protecting

thefamily’seconomiclibertyandmoralrights,increas

ingchildtaxcredits,andpromotingfamilyplanning

throughabstinence.

Finally,thehistoryoftheRepublicanPartydemon

strates that support for traditional marriage and

familyhashadnothingtodowithanimustowardany

group, but because of the demonstrated fact that

traditionalmarriageandfamilyisapositivegoodforafreesocietyinmanywaysandiscentraltoitscre

ationandmaintenance.

Traditional family is able to offer societal safe

guards because it is inherently 1) stable (76% of

motherswhomarrybeforegivingbirthremainmar

ried);2)independent(itcanexistwithoutgovernment

and creates allegiances that help defend against

government excesses); 3) self-sufficient (it is more

likelytokeepwomenandchildrenoutofpoverty);and

4)perpetuatesitselfindefinitely(throughthebirthof children).

Traditionalmarriagestrengthensthetraditional

familybecauseitisdesignedtobe1)permanent(alife

longcommitmentpromotesstability),2)monogamous

(strong commitments to just one spouse promote

independenceandself-sufficiency), 3)sexuallyexclu

sive(whichpromotesperpetuation),4)comprehensive

(itencompasseseveryaspectofaspouse’sexistence

and so promotes stability), 5) unified in objective

(promotesstability,independenceandself-sufficiency),

and 6) heterosexual (whichpromotes stability, self-sufficiency,andperpetuation).


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5

Traditionalmarriagefrequentlybenefitseveryone.

Mothersaremorereadilyprotectedfrompovertyand

areofferedastableandsecureenvironmenttoraise

theirchildren.Menaregivenfamilialobligationsand

responsibilitiestochanneltheirenergyandaggression

intosociallydesirableends,protectingandsupporting

his wife and children, and are less likely to be

marginalizedanddisinclinedtowork.Childrenaretied

biologically to their parents and benefit from the

complementary parenting styles that a mother andfatherprovide.Andsocietyismorelikelytobecom

prisedofadultsexhibitingtrust,cooperation,andself-

restraint,withacommitmenttoandresponsibilityfor

theirfamilies.

Same-sex marriage often does not provide such

benefits. Historically, gay liberationists sought to

abolish the institution of marriage altogether. This

changed with Massachusetts’ 2003 Goodridge court

decision,whichstruckdownthatstate’sprohibitionof

same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage was then

pursuedbecauseofitsdisruptiveeffectontraditional

marriage:marriagewouldneedtoberedefined.Mar

riagenolongerwouldservetobolsterthetraditional

family,butinsteadwouldmaketraditionalmarriage’s

beneficialelementsoptional,subjugatingtheneedsof

childrentotheemotionalattachmentsofadults.

Asaresult,same-sexmarriagetypicallylacksthe

keyfeaturesthetraditionalfamilyneedstoensurea

freesociety.Itislesspermanentandstable,withmale

homosexualcouples50%morelikelytodivorcethan

heterosexualcouples,andlesbiancouples167%morelikelytodivorcethanheterosexualcouples.Itisless

likely to be sexually exclusive, with one half of a


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6

percent (0.5%) of male homosexual couples being

faithfultoeachother.Indeed,becauseitsegregatesthe

sexes, men are less likely to be monogamous and

womenare more likelyto initiatedivorce.Children

especiallycansufferasaresultiftheyarenotprovided

meaningfulinteractionwithaparentoftheopposite

sex.

Same-sex marriagehas notpromotedmarriage,

either,asmarriageratescontinuetodeclineinmost

countriesthatrecognizeit.Andwithitsredefinitionof marriage,manyhomosexualrightsscholarsrecognize

thatthismeansthatahostofotherfamilialarrange

mentsshould fall withinstate-sanctionedmarriage.

TheRepublicanParty,whichatitsfoundingopposed

polygamy,nowfindsitselfcomingfullcircle.

Thestateshaveanimportantinterestinprotecting

andpromotingtraditionalmarriageandfamilyasthe

foundationofafreesociety,sotheirlawsdoingsoare

constitutional.

ArgumentThisCourthasrepeatedlyobservedthatinfringe

mentson“fundamentallibertyinterests”anddistinc2tionsbetweensimilarlysituatedgroups willbeupheld

when the statehas a sufficientlyimportantgovern

2ThisBriefexpressesno opinion onwhetherthesecases

presentasituationwherea“fundamentallibertyinterest”

is infringed, or where Fourteenth Amendment equal

protection is triggered. Rather, this Brief argues that,

regardlessofthelevelofscrutiny,thestates’interestinpromotingtraditionalmarriageandfamily,becauseitisthe

foundationforafreesociety,issufficientlyimportantto

upholdthelawsatissueherein.


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7

mental interest.See Washington v. Glucksberg ,521

U.S.702,721(1997)(quoting Reno v. Flores, 507U.S.

292, 302 (1993)). Respondent States have precisely

suchanimportantinterestbecausetraditionalmar

riageandfamilyisthefoundationofafreesociety.So

stateshaveresistedeffortstoredefinemarriageand

insteadseektoprotecttraditionalmarriagebetween

onemanandonewoman.

Traditionalmarriage“fosterscharacteristicssuch

asfaithfulnessandsupportthatstrengthenthefoundationalbuildingblockofsociety—thefamily.”Peter

Frank, Marriage and the Family: The Social and

Economic Costs, at 9 (2012), http://www.jessehelms

center.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Marriage-and

-the-Family.pdf . So the Republican Party’s 1976

Platformrecognizedthat:

Families—notgovernmentprograms—arethe

bestwaytomakesureourchildrenareprop

erlynurtured, our elderly are caredfor, our

culturalandspiritualheritagesareperpetuated,ourlawsareobservedandourvaluesare

preserved.


Platform of 1976 (Aug. 18, 1976), available at

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=25843.3

“[T]hese self-reliant individuals (are) prepared to

exercisebothrightsandresponsibilities,”withinafree

society of limited government. Republican Party

3

RepublicanPartyPlatformciteswillhereinafterhavethefollowingformat:“Republican Party Platform of [year] at

[URLdistinguishingnumber].” FullcitesareintheTable

ofAuthorities.

http://www.jessehelms/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=25843.3http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=25843.3http://www.jessehelms/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=25843.3


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8

Platform of 1984 at25845.

Furthermore, as the Republican Party’s 2000

Platform explained,homeand family isbasedona

fatherandamother:

Republicansrecognizetheimportanceofhav

ingafatherandamotherinthehome.The

two-parentfamilystillprovidesthebestenvi

ronmentofstability,discipline,responsibility,

andcharacter.

Republican Party Platform of 2000 at25849.However,

whenthereisabreakdowninthefamilybecause

thefatherhasdesertedthisfamily,children

aremorelikelytocommitacrime,dropoutof

school,becomeviolent,becometeenparents,

takeillegaldrugs,becomemiredinpoverty,or

haveemotionalorbehavioralproblems.

Id. Theseproblems“notonlyleadtomoregovernment

costs,butalsotomoregovernmentcontroloverthe

livesofitscitizensinallaspects.”Republican Party

Platform of 2012 at 101961. And they resulted in

“fracturingthefamilyintoisolatedindividuals,eachof

them dependent upon—and helpless be

fore—government.”Republican Party Platform of 1992

at25847.

And so, since the Republican Party supports

equality,individualfreedomandlimitedgovernment:

“Asthefamilygoes,sodoestheNation.Strong

families and strong communities make a

strongAmerica.”

Id.

Traditional families,whenbasedona marriage


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9

betweenamanandawoman,areoftenself-reliantand

self-supporting, minimizing therole of government.

Furthermore, they can provide mutual support and

protectionforfamilymembers,enablingmembersto

better stand against oppressive governments. As a

result, throughoutitshistory,theRepublicanParty

hasstoodagainstrepeatedandvariedthreatstothe

integrityoftraditionalmarriageandthefamilyand,

oftenwithbipartisansupport,havesoughtstatelaws

that promote and protect traditional marriage andfamily.Theselawsareconstitutional.

I.TheRepublicanPartySupportsTraditional

MarriageBecausetheTraditionalFamilyIsthe

FoundationofaFreeSociety.

Sinceitsinception,theRepublicanPartyhasbeen

the champion of equality, individual freedom and

limitedgovernmentand,asaresult,ofthefamily.Its

firstPlatform,adoptedin1856,vigorouslyopposednot

only slavery but also polygamy—“the twin relics of

barbarism,” because the existence of slavery is arepudiation of the principle ofequality, a denial of

individualfreedoms,andantitheticaltoafreesociety;

and because polygamy undercut a free society by

redefining marriage and thereby undermining the

traditionalfamily.4Republican Party Platform of 1856

4Opposition to polygamy was “(m)otivated largely by

traditionalProtestantChristianconceptsofsexualrestraint

andtheimportanceofthefamily”anditwas“assumedby

manypeople”thatpromotionofpolygamywas“motivatedprimarilybymalesexuallicentiousnessandthedesireto

subjugatewomen.”StephenEliotSmith, Barbarians within

the Gates: Congressional Debates on Mormon Polygamy,


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10

at29619.Sincethen,theRepublicanPartyhascontin

uedtorespondtoexternal threatstothefamily,by

advocatingcareforthewidowsandchildrenofmilitary

menthatdiedincombat,Republican Party Platform of

1868 at29622,naturalizationforimmigrantwomen,

protectionofcitizenshipforAmericanwomenmarrying

immigrantmen,Republican Party Platform of 1920 at

29635;supportingequalpayforworkersregardlessof

sex, Republican Party Platform of 1944 at 25835;

protecting America’s farming families, Republican Party Platform of 1956 at25838;supportinghousing

forlow-incomefamilies,Republican Party Platform of

1960 at25839;Republican Party Platform of 1964 at

25840; opposing welfare programs that erodes and

discouragesfamilyunity,Republican Party Platform of

1968 at25841,nationalizedcompulsoryhealthinsur

ance, Republican Party Platform of 1972 at 25842,

abortion,themarriagetax,Republican Party Platform

of 1980 at 25844, pornography, Republican Party

Platform of 1984 at25845,and divorce,Republican

Party Platform of 1996 at25848;andbysupporting

adoption,Republican Party Platform of 1988 at25846,

parental authority and responsibility, Republican

Party Platform of 1992 at25847,thefamily’seconomic

liberty and moral rights, id., increasing child tax

credits,Republican Party Platform of 2000 at25849,

andfamilyplanningthroughabstinence,id.

Withtheturnofthetwenty-firstcenturycamea

renewed threat to the family: the redefinition of

marriage.Andso,forthefirsttimeinthe1996Plat

form, the Republican Party addressed and opposed

1850-1879 ,51J.Church&State587(Autumn2009).


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11

“same-sexunions.”Republican Party Platform of 1996

at25848.Astheredefinitionthreatgrew,theRepubli

canPartyaddressedtheneedforprotectionoftradi

tional marriage in its 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012

Platforms,see Republican Party Platform of 2000 at

25849; Republican Party Platform of 2004 at25850;

Republican Party Platform of 2008 at78545;Republi

can Party Platform of 2012 at101961,whilemaking

clearthat“(w)eembracetheprinciplethatallAmeri

cans should be treated with respect and dignity.”Republican Party Platform of 2012 at101961.

And since 2012, all of the recently,

unanimouslyadoptedRepublicanNationalCommittee5

5TheRepublicanNationalCommittee(“RNC”)iscomposed

ofthree(3)membersfromeachofthefifty(50)U.S.States,

theDistrictofColumbia,and five (5) U.S.Territories or

Commonwealths—theRepublicanChairman,theRepubli

canNationalCommitteeman,andtheRepublicanNational

Committeewoman. These three members are elected

accordingtotheirState’sorTerritory’sRepublicanPartyRules.RNCmembersareoftenelectedbyaConventionof

statedelegateselectedfromeverycountyintheStateor

Territory.SotheRNCisagrassrootsorganizationrepre

sentingallRepublicansthroughoutAmerica. Itischarged

withthegeneralmanagementoftheRepublicanParty.The

composition of the one hundred sixty-eight (168) RNC

membersisdiverseincultureandthought.Theyrepresent

thespectrumofconcernsfromsmallstatesandlargestates,

and of issues, rural and metropolitan, from across the

country. All RNC members agree to operate under the

PlatformandRulesoftheRepublicanPartyadoptedatthemostrecentquadrennialRepublicanNationalConvention.

See Rules of the Republican Party, available at

http://www.gop.com/rules-and-resolutions/.

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12

Resolutions6 on marriage fully support traditional

marriage.Indeed,theissuehasbeenofsuchimportto

theRepublicanPartythatthreeResolutionsonmar

riagehavebeenunanimouslyadoptedsince2012:one

onAugust22,2012,andtwoonApril12,2013.

Theunanimously-adoptedResolutioninAugustof

2012,RNC Resolution Defending Traditional Marriage,

statedthat:

Theinstitutionofmarriageisthesolidfounda

tion upon which our society is built and inwhichchildrenthrive.

Republican National Committee, RNC Resolution

Defending Traditional Marriage (Aug. 22, 2012)

available at https://cdn.gop.com/docs/2012_Summer

Meeting_Resolutions.pdf.

Thefirstunanimously-adoptedResolutionofApril

12, 2013, reaffirmed themarriage principles estab

lished in the 2012 Platform. Republican National

Committee,Resolution Supporting Core Values of the

2012 Republican Platform (April12,2013),availableathttp://cdn.gop.com/docs/Resolution_Supporting_Core _

Values_of_the_2012_Republican_Platform.pdf.Andthe

secondunanimously-adoptedResolution for Marriage

and Children 2013, passedthatsameday,reiterated

6The fullRNCconsidersadoptedResolutions duringthe

RNC’sGeneralSession,astheChairmanoftheResolutions

Committee reports them.Resolutions adopted ataRNC

GeneralSessionrepresentthevoiceandthewillofgrass

rootsRepublicansthroughoutthecountry,withcopiessenttoallRepublicanCongressmenandSenatorsandCongres

sional and Senatorial candidates, RepublicanGovernors

andRepublicanHouseandSenateleaders.

https://cdn.gop.com/docs/2012_Summerhttp://cdn.gop.com/docs/Resolution_Supporting_Corehttps://cdn.gop.com/docs/2012_Summerhttp://cdn.gop.com/docs/Resolution_Supporting_Core


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13

that:

theinstitutionofmarriageisthesolidfounda

tion upon which our society is built and in

whichchildrenthrive;anditisbasedonthe

relationshipthatonlyamanandawomancan

form.

RepublicanNationalCommittee, Resolution for Mar

riage and Children (April 12, 2013), available at

http://cdn.gop.com/docs/Resolution_for_Marriage _

and_Children_2013.pdf.

TheseResolutions,alongwiththeRNCPlatform,

demonstrate the Republican Party’s long-held and

currentbeliefthattraditionalmarriage,theunionof

one man and one woman, must be upheld as the

nationalstandard,agoaltostandfor,encourage,and

promotethroughlawsgoverningmarriageandfamily.

IthasbeenconsistentlyrecognizedbytheRepublican

Party,includingmostrecently,thatthefamilybuilt

uponmarriagebetweenonemanandonewomanisthe

“goldstandard”forhumaninterpersonalrelationships.Itistheunionthatformsthesolidfoundationonwhich

afreesocietyisbuilt.7

AndsotheRepublicanParty’sadvocacyfortradi

tionalmarriageisnotaboutanimustowardaparticu

larsubsetofAmericansbasedonsexualpreferences,8

7 Amicirecognizethatnoteverymarriagemeetsthisideal

andthatindividualfamiliesthatdonotmeetthisidealcan

succeedinsociety.Nevertheless,freesocietyisbenefitted

bypromotingtheidealasthestandardtobeencouragedandstrivenfor.

8That the Republican Party is not driven by animus is

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14

and,infact,theprospectofsame-sexmarriagesplayed

utterlynorolewhatsoeverintheRepublicanParty’s

159-year-longdefenseofthefamilyuntilthelastfew

years. The Republican Party supported traditional

marriageandfamilybecauseitisthefoundationfor

freesociety,andunderminingit,byanymeans,under

minestraditionalfamilyformation,therebyencourag

ing the growth of government and removing a key

bulwarkagainstgovernment,particularlytyrannical

andtotalitarianones.Millionsofwomenarecurrentlyhavingchildren

outsideofmarriage,significantlyincreasingtheirrisk

of poverty and government dependence. Marriage:

America’s Number 1 Weapon Against Child Poverty,

The Heritage Foundation, http://www.heritage.

evidentinthesubstantialparticipationoflesbians,homo

sexualsandhomosexualrightssupportersintheRepubli

canParty.Forexample,theBriefAmiciCuriaeofKenneth

B.Mehlmanlists304amicisupportingsame-sexmarriage.Whilefewoftheseamicihavebeeninelectedpolicy-making

positions,suchasinelectedpublicoffice(66amiciarelisted

as current (11) or past (55) elected Republican public

officialsoutofanestimated500,000electedpublicofficials

in the United States, Christopher R. Berry & Jacob E.

Gersen,The Fiscal Consequences of Electoral Institutions at

14,available at http://www.law.uchicago.edu/files/344.pdf )

oras elected Republican Party officers (10 are listed as

currentorpastelectedRepublicanPartyofficers),191ofthe

amicihaveheldimportantappointedpositionsinRepubli

canPartyorganizations,candidatecampaignsorgovernment.37oftheamiciarelistedinotherprivatecapacities,

suchasmembersofadvocacygroups,philanthropists,or

politicalcommentators.

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15

org/childpoverty/united-states(lastvisitedMarch31,

2015).ThisistheproblemthattheRepublicanParty’s

supportfortraditionalmarriageseekstoaddress.And

in so doing, the prospects fora freesociety willbe

enhanced.

A. The Traditional Family Guards Against

PovertyandtheNeedFortheGrowthofthe

WelfareState.

Fordecades,theRepublicanPartyadvocatedfor

governmentsupportforpost-CivilWarwidowswithchildren.Republican Party Platform of 1868 at29622;

Republican Party Platform of 1900 at29630.Recogniz

ingthevitalroleahusbandandfatheroftenplaysin

thefamily,andthesubstantialcosttothefamilyof

lossofakeymember,theRepublicanPartysupported

alimitedgovernmentroleinensuringsuchfamilies

succeed despite their loss. And these government

programs did not encourage family breakup. The

breakupoccurredduetodeathinwar.

Suchisnotthecaseforsomewelfareprograms.TheRepublicanPartyopposedtheadoptionofboth

PresidentJohnson’sAidtoFamilieswithDependent

Children(AFDC)program,whichexpandedthewelfare

programtocoverallunmarriedparentswithchildren,

see Republican Party Platform of 1968 at25841(“Wel

fareandpovertyprogramswillbedrasticallyrevised

toliberatethepoorfromthedebilitatingdependence

whicherodesself-respectanddiscouragesfamilyunity

andresponsibility”),andJohnson’s“GreatSociety” food

stampprogramexpansion,whichballoonedduringhis

termfrom424,000participantsto2.2million.Michael

Fumento, Is The Great Society to Blame? If Not, Why


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16

Have Problems Worsened Since ‘60s?,Investor’sBus.

Daily(June19,1992),availableathttp://fumento.com/

economy/greatsociety.html. Such programs often

underminedthefamilyandincreaseddependenceon

andthegrowthofgovernment.

Theblackcommunityoffersacasestudyjustifying

theseconcerns.DanielPatrickMoynihan,asociologist

who was the Assistant Secretary of Labor under

President Johnson and later a Democratic Senator

from New York, observed the demise of the blackfamilyin1964and,filingareportin1965,advocated

for“anationalefforttowardstheproblemsofNegro

Americans must be directed toward the question of

family structure.” Patrick Moynihan, The Negro

Family: The Case For National Action,UnitedStates

DepartmentofLabor(1965), available at http://www.

dol.gov/dol/aboutdol/history/webid-moynihan.html.

Implicit in Moynihan’s analysis was that

marriageorientsmenandwomentowardsthe

future,askingthemnotjusttocommittoeachother but to plan, to earn, to save, and to

devotethemselvestoadvancingtheirchildren’s

prospects. Singlemothers... tendedtodrift

intopregnancy,oftenmorethanonceandby

morethanoneman,andtofloatthroughthe

chaosaroundthem.Suchmothersareunlikely

to‘shapetheirchildren’scharacterandability’

inwaysthatleadtoupwardmobility.

KayS.Hymowitz,The Black Family: 40 Years of Lies,

CityJournal(Summer2005),available at http://www.

city-journal.org/html/15_3_black_family.html. However,theJohnsonadministrationrejectedMoynihan’s

recommendationsandlaunchedwelfareprogramsthat

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17

oftendrovefathersoutoftheirchildren’shomes.

In1960,23percentofblackchildrenwerebornout

ofwedlock (a level that seemed alarmingly high to

Moynihan). Bryce Christensen, Time for A New

‘Moynihan Report’? Confronting the National Family

Crisis, TheFamilyinAmerica,Vol.18,No.10(Oct.

2004),available at http://profam.org/pub/fia/fia_1810.

htm.By1987,after15yearsoftheWaronPoverty

welfareprogramsoftheGreatSociety,out-of-wedlock

birthsroseto 62percent.Id.At thesame time,themarriagerateofblackwomenages25to29plummeted

from 60 percent to 32 percent. Id. “And just as

Moynihanhadpredicted,thisunravelingoftheblack

family incubated a nightmarish brood of social

problems—crime, abuse,academic failure, economic

distress, homelessness, and physical and mental

illness.”Id. Moynihanidentified“atangleofpathol

ogy”thathesaidcharacterizedthecommunity,includ

ing“delinquency,joblessness,schoolfailure,crime,and

fatherlessness.”Homes,supra.

Thisoccurredbecausethegovernment’sresponse,

ratherthanstrengtheningfamilies,insteadlistenedto

critics that ridiculed thereport asa racisteffort to

blamethevictimandsopursuedits“WaronPoverty”

withprogramsdirectednotatreformingthefamilybut

instead reinforced dependency on government and

underminethefamily:

[Before the report, many poor black (and

white)couplesmadetheheroiceffortsneces

sary to keep their marriages and families

togetherbecausetheirculturalleaderscontin

uallytoldthemitwasworthdoingso...[after

thereport]inthesixtiesprominentfiguresin

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law,themedia,andentertainment—including

thosesavagingtheMoynihanReport—beganto

sendthemessage that Americans who were

‘morallysuperior’lookeddownnot on‘anyone

who had a baby without marrying. . . [but

rather]onanyonewhodisapproved ofunwed

mothers.Whenpoorblacksbegantohearthat

message...theynaturallygaveupmaking

heroic efforts to keep their marriages and

families together. It was then that blackdivorceandillegitimacyratessoared.

Christensen,supra(emphisisinoriginal).

Moynihan’spredictionalsobearsoutanecdotally.

First Lady Michelle Obama was born in 1964 in

ParkwayGardensinChicagoandlivedtherefortwo

yearsbeforemovingwith her familycloser toLake

Michiganin1965.Herfamilywasatraditionalone:

“the mother at home, the father works, you have

dinneraroundthetable.Ihadaverystable,conven

tionalupbringing,andthatfeltverysafetome.”LeslieBennetts, First Lady in Waiting , Vanity Fair (Dec.

2007), available at http://www.vanityfair.com/

news/2007/12/michelle_obama200712.

Now,theParkwayGardensareaisreferredtoas

“O” Block—so named for 20-year-old gang member

Odes Perry gunned down therein 2011. Itwasthe

mostdangerousblockinChicagobetween2011and

2014,with19shootings.Whythedifference?According

tolocalpreacherRev.CoryBrooks,“(t)heenvironment

wasfamily-focused.. .Peoplewereworking. When

youeliminateallthosethingsfromacommunity—mennotinthehouseholdandeducationfailing—itwillbe

a drastic difference than what the first lady of the

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19

United States and her family experienced.”9 Frank

Main,The Most Dangerous Block In Chicago, Chicago

SunTimes(Oct.31,2014).

Thiscultureofdependencedidnotonlyimpactthe

blackcommunity:

WhenJohnsonlaunchedtheWaronPoverty,

7 percent of American children were born

outsideofmarriage.Today,thenumberisover

40percent.... therehasbeennosignificant

increase in the number of married-couplefamilieswithchildren(bothpoorandnon-poor)

intheU.S.since1965. Bycontrast,thenum

berofsingle-parentfamilieswithchildrenhas

skyrocketedbynearly10million,risingfrom

3.3.millionsuchfamiliesin1965to13.2mil

lionin2012. Sincesingle-parentfamiliesare

roughlyfourtimesmorelikelythanmarried-

couplefamiliestolackself-sufficiency(andto

be officially poor), this unraveling of family

structure has exerted a powerful downwardpullagainstself-sufficiencyandsubstantially

boosted the official child poverty rate. . . .

welfarebegan to serve as a substitutefora

husband in the home . . . [and] the welfare

systemactivelypenalizedlow-incomecouples

whodidmarrybyeliminatingorsubstantially

reducingbenefits.Ashusbandsleftthehome,

9Indeed,Rev.Brookscampedoutontheroofofaboarded-

upmotelon“O” Block todrawnationalattention totherampantgunfireintheneighborhood.Hehasraisedmore

than$450,000 from his rooftopcampaigntoconvert the

moteltoacommunitycenter.Main,supra.


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20

the need for morewelfare to support single

mothersincreased...creat[ing]adestructive

feedbackloop:Welfarepromotedthedeclineof

marriage,whichgeneratedtheneedformore

welfare.

Robert Rector and Rachel Sheffield, The War on

Poverty After 50 Years,TheHeritageFoundation(Sept.

15 2014), available at http://www.heritage.org/

research/reports/2014/09/the-war-on-poverty-after-50

-years.Unlikeaprogramprovidingfinancialsupporttomilitaryfamiliesthatlostaparentorspousedueto

war,theseprogramsoftenencouragedsingle-parent

households and thereby encouraged a culture of

dependencytowhichtheRepublicanPartyobjects.

B. The Traditional Family Protects Against

TyrannyAndGovernmentExcess.

Totalitarian regimes exhibit one common trait:

theyaimtoundermineordestroyofthefamily.Such

destruction eradicates competition for allegiances,

“atomizing”individualssothattheyhavenoattachmenttoajob,family,friendsorclass,andisolating

themtomakethemmorevulnerableanddependent:

Totalitariangovernment. . .couldnotexist

withoutdestroyingthepublicrealmoflife...

byisolatingmen(andwomen),theirpolitical

capabilities.Buttotalitariandomination...is

newinthatit...destroysprivatelifeaswell.

Itbasesitselfonloneliness,ontheexperience

ofnotbelongingtotheworldatall,whichis

amongthemostradicalanddesperateexperi

encesofman.

HannahArendt,The Origins of Totalitarianism 475

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(1951). Traditional families—husband, wives, chil

dren—guardagainstsuchtyrannyandtrytosupport

andprotectfamilymembersfromgovernmentabuse

and controls that are the hallmarkofsuchgovern

ments.Traditionalfamilystructuresgivethepurpose,

direction,obligation,andsupportwhichhelpsfamily

membersoppose thedestructionof afreesocietyby

suchregimes.

II.TraditionalMarriageEnsuresAFreeSoci

etyByProtectingtheTraditionalFamily. A. TheTraditionalFamilyIsStable,Independ

ent, Self-Supporting and Self-Sufficient,

ReplicatingItselfIndefinitely.

Afreesocietyflourisheswithtraditionalfamiliesat

itsfoundation.Thisisbecausethetraditionalfamily

hasfouressentialcomponents.

First, the traditional family is stable. “76% of

mothers who married before giving birth remained

intactcomparedto44%ofthosewhomarriedlaterand

31%ofthosewhonevermarried.”HarryBenson,Getmarried BEFORE you have children, MarriageFoun

dation (March 2015), available at http://www.

marriagefoundation.org.uk/Shared/Uploads/Products

/15035_MF%20paper%20-%20Get%20married%20bef

ore%20children.pdf. The traditional family offers

predictabilityandsecurity.

Second,thetraditionalfamilyisindependent.It

canexistwithoutgovernment.Andbecauseallegiances

to the family come first, its members will defend

againstunwantedandexcessivegovernmentintrusion.Third,thefamilyisself-sufficient.Bothhusband

andwifearemotivatedtoensurethesuccessfortheir

http://www/http://www/


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family,helpingkeepthefamilyoutofpoverty.Rector

andSheffield,supra.

Last,thetraditionalfamilyencouragesthecreation

ofchildren.“Coitus”(fromtheLatincoitus,thecoming

togetherofmaleandfemalesexorgans)istheactthat

“consummates”amarriage:

Incoitus,andtherealone,amananda

woman’sbodiesparticipatebyvirtueof

theirsexualcomplementarityinacoordi

nationthathasthebiologicalpurposeof reproduction—afunctionthatneithercan

performalone.

Sherif Girgis,Ryan T.Anderson, RobertP.George,

What is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense 99

(2012).Thebiological complementarityofitsparent

membersensuresthetraditionalfamilywillperpetuate

itselfindefinitely.

B. TraditionalMarriage Offers UniqueFea

turesThatReinforceTheStrengthofTra

ditionalFamily.

Traditionalmarriage10strengthensthetraditional

family.Itdoesthisthroughsixkeyfeaturesitseeksto

promote.

First,itseekstobepermanent.RyanT.Anderson,

Monogamy, Exclusivity, and Permanence?,TheHeri

tage Foundation (Dec. 13, 2012), available at

http://www.heritage.org/research/commentary/2012/

12/monogamy-exclusivity-and-permanence.Marriage

10Suchmarriagesareequallyavailabletoall.See Loving v.

Virginia, 388U.S.1,12(1967).Theyarenotcompulsory.

Id.

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istobeundertakenasalifelongcommitmentbetween

spousestofamilylife.

Second,itismonogamous.Id. Onlyonemanand

onewomanmayparticipateinanyonemarriage.This

formsstrongallegiancesbetweenthetwopartnersthat

protectthestabilityandindependenceofthefamily.

Third,itpromotessexualexclusivity.Id. National

surveyshaveconsistentlyfoundthatthemajorityof

heterosexualmarriagesarefaithful,with75-81%of

menand85-88%ofwomenreportingthattheyhavehad no extramarital sex. Michael W. Weiderman,

Extramarital Sex: Prevalence and Correlates In A

National Survey, TheJournalofSexResearch,at 34

(1997); ABC News Primetime Live Poll: The American

S e x S u r v e y ( 2 0 0 4 ) , a v a i l a b l e a t

http://abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/959a1America

nSexSurvey.pdf; Tom W. Smith, American Sexual

Behavior: Trends, Socio-Demographic Differences, and

Risk Behavior, at 8 (2006), available at

http://www.norc.org/PDFs/Publications/AmericanSexualBehavior2006.pdf. This too reinforces strong

allegiancesthatpromotestabilityandindependence

withinthefamilyanditsperpetuation.

Fourth,itiscomprehensive.Itencompassesevery

aspect ofaperson’sexistenceincludingsexualrela

tions.Thisalsopromotesstability,independence,self-

sufficiency,andperpetuation.

Fifth,ithasunifiedends—alifetimecommitment

tofamilylife.Thistoohelpstoensurethestabilityand

self-sufficiencyofthefamily. Andlast,itisheterosexual.“Malesandfemalesare

inherentlydifferent. Marriage servestobring these

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twogenderstogether....malesandfemalesarecom

plementary.” Frank, supra. In this way, marriage

bringsaboutgenderintegration.FrancesKelly,Shifty

Words: What does “marriage equality” actually mean?,

Mercatornet(Feb.5,2012),at http://www.mercatornet.

com/articles/view/shifty_words. “Without both, the

marriageisincomplete,”Frank,supra,andthefamily

often suffers. Indeed, as Justice Ginsburg recently

observed:

A wise old man and a wise old woman willreachthesamejudgment.Ithinkthatistrue.

Butwealsobringtothetableourlife'sexperi

ence, which is different. A very important

difference:Areyoumale?Areyoufemale?...

All of those differences, I think, make The

SupremeCourtbench,makeallthebenchesin

the country, ever so much better thanthey

werewhenonlyonekindofpersonsatinthe

seatofjudgment.

A Conversation with Ruth Bader Ginsburg , 56 TheRecord of the Association of the Bar of the City of New

York 8,9(Winter2001).Evenmoresoforthefamily.

Heterosexualityhelpsensurethatthefamilyisself-

sufficientandcanreproduceitselfindefinitely.

C. Traditional Marriage Benefits Husbands,

WivesandMothers,Children,andSociety.

“[M]arriedpeople inWesternEurope andNorth

Americaaregenerallyhappier,healthier,andbetter

protectedagainsteconomicsetbacksandpsychological

depressionthan peopleinanyother livingarrangement.”StephanieCoontz,Marriage, A History: From

Obedience to Intimacy, or How Love Conquered Mar

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riage 309 (2005). All members of the fam

ily—husbands,wivesandmothers,andchildren—and

societycanbenefitfromsucharrangements.

1. Mothers Benefit from Traditional Mar

riage.

Thebenefitsoftraditionalmarriageformothers

aresubstantial.Only6.8%ofmarriedmotherslivein

poverty, 82% less that their singlemother counter

parts.Marriage: America’s Number 1 Weapon Against

Child Poverty, supra.Indeed,“[i]fpoorwomenwhogivebirthoutsideofmarriageweremarriedtothefathers

of their children, two-thirds would immediately be

liftedoutofofficialpovertyintoself-sufficiency.”Rector

andSheffield,supra.And“76%of motherswhowere

marriedbeforehavingtheirfirstchildremainedso15

yearson.”First comes love, then comes marriage . . .

tying the knot before first baby is a key ingredient for

marriage success,MarriageFoundation(Mar.92015),

http://www.marriagefoundation.org.uk/Web/News/

News.aspx?news=179&RedirectUrl=%2FWeb%2FContent%2FDefault.aspx%3FContent%3D440.

Thequalitiesthattraditionalmarriagepromotes

—permanence,monogamy,andsexuallyexclusivity—

seektocreateasecureenvironmentforamotherto

raiseherchildren. Withoutit,sheoftenstrugglesto

makeendsmeetandcanbeforcedtobedependenton

others,includingthegovernment,forsupport.

2. MenBenefitFromTraditionalMarriage.

The benefit of traditional marriage to men is

substantialaswell.Menbenefitfromthesocializingeffectthatwomenbringinamarriage:

. . . women transform male lust into love;

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channelmalewanderlustintojobs,homesand

families; link men to specific children; rear

children into citizens; change hunters into

fathers;divertmalewilltopowerintoadrive

tocreate.Womenconceivethefuturethatmen

tendtoflee...

GeorgeGilder,Men and Marriage5(1986).11

Thus,marriagehelpstofocusaman’senergyand

aggression to socially desirable ends—providing for

andprotectingwivesandchildren,makingtheirwivesand children feel secure, happyand loved.Without

such a traditional family structure—single mother

familiesonwelfare,forexample—the“marginalization

ofthemen”canoccur.Fumento,supra.Whenmenlack

anobligationofresponsibilitytosupporttheirchildren

andtheirmother,studiesshowanincreaseinnotjust

maleunemploymentbutanunavailabilitytoworkat

all.Id.

Thus,marriedmenare:

moreattachedtothelaborforces,onaverageearnhigherwageseachyeartheyaremarried,

havelesssubstanceabuse,commitlesscrime,

arelesslikelytobethevictimsofcrime,have

betterphysicalandpsychologicalhealth,live

11Indeed, “the long term presence of men helping raise

familiesbringslongtermbenefitstowomen....wherethe

status of men is lackluster, so too will be the status of

women.” Andrea Mrozek, The Status of Men: Boys Are

Lagging. How Does The Decline of Marriage Play A Role?,Institute of Marriage and Family Canada, available at

http://www.imfcanada.org/sites/default/files/StatusOfMen_

Nov2010_Final_web.pdf.

http:///reader/full/1986).11http:///reader/full/1986).11http://www.imfcanada.org/sites/defaulthttp:///reader/full/1986).11http://www.imfcanada.org/sites/default


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longer,andarelesslikelytobevictimsofa

seriousaccident.

GeorgeA.Akerlof,Explorations in Pragmatic Econom

ics: Select Papers of George A. Akerlof 163-64(2005).

Traditionalmarriagepromotesmaleproductivityand

givesmenasociallydesirablepurpose.

3. ChildrenBenefitFromTraditionalMar

riage.

Childrenalsocanbenefitfromthepresenceoftheir

motherandfatherintheirhousehold.Indeed:

[I]tisnotsimplythepresenceoftwoparents.

..butthepresenceoftwo biological parents

thatseemstosupportchildren’sdevelopment.

[R]esearch clearly demonstrates that family

structuremattersforchildren,andthefamily

structure that helps children the most is a

familyheadedbytwobiologicalparentsina

low-conflict marriage. Children in single-

parent families, childrenborn tounmarried

mothers, and children in step families orcohabitingrelationships face higherrisksof

pooroutcomes . .. .There isthusvaluefor

childreninpromotingstrong,stablemarriages

betweenbiologicalparents.”

RyanT.Anderson,Marriage Matters: Consequences of

Redefining Marriage, TheHeritageFoundation(March

18, 2013), available at http://www.heritage.org/

research/reports/2013/03/why-marriage-matters-cons

equences-of-redefining-marriage (quoting Kristin

AndersonMoore,SusanM.Jekielek,andCarolEmig,Marriage from a Child’s Perspective: How Does Family

Structure Affect Children, and What Can We Do About

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It?, ChildTrendsChild Research Brief at1,6(June

2002))(emphasisinoriginal).

Menandwomenoftenhavedifferentbutcomple

mentaryparentingstylesthatareessentialtoachild’s

development: “Mothers [may] use more parenting

techniquesofgentlenessandsecurity,whilefathers

[may favor independence and confidence-building.

Theseapproacheshelpchildrenunderstandtheworld

indifferentways;theybalanceeachother.”William

Scottand AmyDe LaHunt,The Important Role ofFathers in the Lives of Young Children, Parent as

Teachers (last updated Nov. 16, 2011),available at

http://www.parentsasteachers.org/images/stories/doc

uments/Fatherhood_Resources/ImportantRoleofFath

ers.pdf.“Whilemotherstendtoprovidemoreemotional

warmth for their children, fathers often provide a

strongsenseof security.Whilechildrenusuallycan

dependontheirmothersforunconditionallove,they

oftenmustearntheirfather’sapproval.Whilemothers

soothetheirchildrenmoreoften,fathersoftenprovide

morestimulation.”How Do Fathers Fit In?,Civitas:

The Institute for the Study of Civil Society,

http://www.civitas.org.uk/hwu/fathers.php.

Fathersalsocaninfluencethemoraldevelopment

oftheirchildrenasrolemodels:“Adultswhosefathers

had been highly involved when they were children

weremoretolerantandunderstandingandengagedin

moresociallyresponsiblebehaviorthanthosewithless

involved fathers.” Id. Conversely, “‘boys raised in

father-absent homes gravitate to gangs and gang-

activities,’apparently...because[they]lackahealthydomestic exemplar . . . and are therefore trying to

‘demonstratecompensatorymasculinedevelopment,’a

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kind of pathological ‘hypermasculinity’ evident in

aggressivegangactivities.”Christensen,supra (quot

ing Young, Black, and Male in America: An Endan

gered Species 195(1988)and PatriciaMoranandAllan

Barclay,Effects of Fathers’ Absence in Delinquent Boys:

Dependency and Hypermasculinity, 62 Psychological

Reports115-121(1988)).

Boys raised with engaged fathers have fewer

behavioral problems, and adolescent girls with in

volved fathers often grow up with healthier, morepositiveopinionsofandrelationshipswithmen.Nadia

Haris, Role of Fathers in Child Rearing ,

http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/role-fathers-child-r

earing-3454.html.Involvedfathersprovideemotional

securityandconfidenceintheirchildren,givingthem

stronger self-esteem, a healthy body image, and

making them better able to avoid drugs and other

negativeinfluences. Id. Theyarelesslikelytosuffer

fromdepression,arebetterabletocopewithstressand

frustrationduringlearningandstudying,andaremore

likelytobesociable,friendly,andpopularwiththeir

peers.Id.

Mothersarealsocriticalfortheirchildren’swell

being.Mothers:

seemtoconnectwiththeirsonsjustbybeing

with them, by giving them their undivided

attention,andbymakingthemselvesavailable

as an unfailing source of love, comfort, and

support....theabsenceofacloserelationship

withalovingmotherputsaboyatadisadvan

tage inbecominga free,confidentandinde

pendentman....

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WilliamPollock,Real Boys: Rescuing our Sons from the

Myths of Boyhood 82(1998).Childrencanbenefitfrom

traditionalmarriage.

4. Society Benefits From Traditional Mar

riage.

SinceAristotle,westerncivilizationhasrecognized

theprimacyofmarriageandthefamily:“Afreesociety

requiresself-restraining,self-monitoring,self-govern

ing adults.” Jennifer Morse, Love and Economics 6

(2008).See Aristotle,The Politics of Aristotle 9(1997)(observing that one of the first communities of the

householdisthatof“husbandandwifeforgeneration

...”).Andso:

Itishardtoconceiveaninterestmorelegiti

mateandmoreparamountforthestatethan

promoting an optimal social structure for

educating,socializing,andpreparingitsfuture

citizenstobecomeproductiveparticipantsin

civilsociety.

Lofton v. Secretary of the Department of Children andFamily Services XI ,358F.3d804,819(11thCir.2004).

Traditionalmarriagepromotesthefamily,which

isoften“essentialtoraisingindividualswhoexhibit

trust,cooperation,andself-restraint,qualitieswhich

American society is built upon and that the family

inculcatesintochildren.”Frank,supra, at11(citing

Morse,supra,at6). Traditionalmarriage“issociety’s

leastrestrictivemeansofensuringthewell-beingof

children. . . . [It] encourag[es] men and women to

committoeachotherandtakeresponsibilityfortheirchildren.” Anderson, Marriage Matters, supra. By

promoting traditional marriage, society promotes a


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commitmenttovaluechildrenandtheirupbringing.

RyanT.Anderson,Marriage: What It Is,Why It Mat

ters, and the Consequences of Redefining It (Mar.11,

2013), available at http://www.heritage.org/research/

reports/2013/03/marriage-what-it-is-why-it-matters-a

nd-the-consequences-of-redefining-it.

III.TheTraditionalFamilyIsUndermined

ByLegalRecognitionofSame-SexMar

riage.

A. TheHistoryoftheSame-SexMarriageMovement.

While many want same-sex marriage for the

benefits they think they would enjoy, in the gay

liberationmovement,itrepresentsthevictoryofone

strategyaimedatunderminingtraditionalmarriage

overanother.Asthegayliberationmovementroseto

greaterprominenceinthewaveofthe1960sfeminist

movement, it adopted the Leftist12 critique of the

marriageinstitution:

Feminists and gay rights scholars havecritiquedmarriageboth initshistoricaland

contemporarypermutations.Thiscritiquehas

largely hinged onmarriage asa vehicle for

subordinating women and children in a

gender-hierarchicalstructure.Feministcritical

effortshavefocusedonrevealinganddecreas

ing the extent to which women’s economic,

legal,andsocialpowerhingesonmarriageand

onthegenderhierarchywithinmarriage.Gay

12Both 1960s feminism and gay liberation are Leftist

movements.SuzanneA.Kim,Skeptical Marriage Equality,

34Harv.J.L.Gender37,42(2011).

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rights scholars have also focused on the

heteronormative discipline that marriage

imposesonsexualminorities.

Kim, supra, at 42 (emphasis added); see also Julie

Shapiro,Reflections on Complicity,8N.Y.CityL.Rev.

657,660-661(2005)(“[E]choingearlierfeminists,[gay

liberationists]sawtheveryinstitutionofmarriageas

a negative rather than a positive social force.They

identifieditasapatriarchalandoppressiveinstitution

thathashistoricallylimitedtherightsofwomenandwouldnarrowthemeaningoflibertyinthefuture.”).

Gayliberationists,liketheirfeministcounterparts,

hadgreatantipathytomarriageingeneral:

Atthetime[theearly1970s],manyhet

erosexualfeministschosenottomarryin

ordertomakeastatementagainstmar

riage,whichtheybelieved to beanop

pressive,patriarchalinstitution.I believe

that the desire to marry in the lesbian and

gay community is an attempt to mimic theworst of mainstream society,aneffortto

fitintoaninherentlyproblematicinstitu

tion that betrays the promise of both

lesbian and gay liberation and radical

feminism.

NancyD.Polikoff,We Will Get What We Ask For: Why

Legalizing Gay And Lesbian Marriage Will Not “Dis

mantle The Legal Structure Of Gender In Every Mar

riage,” 79 Va. L. Rev.1535, 1536 (1993) (emphasis

added).Forgayliberationists(andradicalfeminists),marriage—whethertraditionalorsame-sex—imposes

“gender”distinctions and“gender”baseddutiesand


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attitudes that are unequal and therefore unjust.

Historical and contemporary same-sex relationship

researchrevealsthat“same-sexpartnersassume[]the

traditionalgenderedrolesofdifferent-sexcouples.”Id.

at1537-1538(citingsources);ChristopherCarrington,

No Place Like Home: Relationships and Family Life

among Lesbians and Gay Men 14-16(1999)(finding

empirically same-sex relationships do not result in

equaldivisionofdomesticlabor).

A huge shift in gay liberation rhetoric occurredafterthecourtin Goodridge v. Department of Public

Health,798N.E.2d941(Mass.2003),heldthatdeny

ingastate-sanctionedmarriagetosame-sexcouples

violatedtheMassachusettsconstitution.Anewrheto

ric ascended, framing same-sex marriage as just

anotherformofmarriage:

Whereonce‘themarriagedebate’referredto

thedebatebetweenvariousfactionswithinthe

lesbianandgaymovements,itnowmeansthe

debate between those advocating ‘access tomarriage for same-sex couples’ and those

opposedto‘same-sexmarriage.’

Shapiro,supra,at665.Theoriginalradicalfeminists

and gay liberationists’ marriage abolition rhetoric

mostlydisappearedfromthepublicdebate,butthose

activiststookcomfortthatsame-sexmarriagewould

disrupttheinstitutionofmarriage:“Itspotentialisto

disruptboththegendereddefinitionofmarriageand

theassumptionthatmarriageisaformofsocially,if

notlegally,prescribedhierarchy.”NanD.Hunter,Sex

Wars: Sexual Dissent and Political Culture 109(2006).

Same-sexmarriagealsoservesforsomeas“civildisobe

dience”and“politicalresistance”totraditionalhetero


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sexualmarriage,asitwould“disruptheteronormative

notionsofpublicandprivateandproperplace,”andit

signals“refusaltocomplywithheterosexistsilences

and invisibility of same-sex relationships.” Nicola

Barker,Not the Marrying Kind: A Feminist Critique of

Same-Sex Marriage121(2012).

Shifting the same-sex marriage rhetoric from

abolitionisttoassimilationistwasandremainspartof

a strategy by many to undermine marriage while

claiming to protect it. See Shapiro, supra, at 658(identifyingherselfas“anti-marriage,”theauthorfor

strategic reasons nevertheless pursues same-sex

marriage“litigation[that]seeksagoalthatIreject.”).

B. TheLegalizationofSame-SexMarriage

RequiresaRedefinitionofMarriage.

“Heterosexual marriages differ from same-sex

marriages in purpose, method, and fruit.” Frank,

supra,at6.“Creatingadistinctionbetweenheterosex

ualandsame-sexmarriagesisnotarbitrarilydiscrimi

natory. It is a distinction based on the nature andpurposeofmarriage.”Frank,supra, at8.Evenifthe

intentisnottounderminemarriage,tomakehetero

sexualandsame-sexmarriageequal,marriagemust

necessarilyberedefined.

Thekeyrevisionistosubordinatechildren’sneed

forbiologicalparentstoadultdesires,howevermani

fest,reducingmarriageto“emotionalbondsorlegal

privileges....emotionalintensity[i]stheonlything

thatsetsmarriageapartfromotherbonds.”Anderson,

Marriage: What It Is,supra.Thisredefinitionmakes

traditionalmaritalnormsarbitraryandnonsensicalas

aprincipledmatter:


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Thereisnoreasonofprinciplethatrequiresan

emotionaluniontobepermanent.Orlimited

totwopersons. Orsexual,muchlesssexually

exclusive(asopposedto“open”).Orinherently

orientedtofamilylifeandshapedbyitsde

mands....ifsexualcomplementarityisop

tionalformarriage,thenalmosteveryother

normthatsetsmarriageapartisoptional.

Id.

It iswith this redefinitionofmarriage that theRepublicanPartyfindsitsdefenseofthefamilycome

fullcircle.Forunderthisnewdefinition,polygamy—to

which the Republican Party objected in 1856 on

accountthatitun

Leaders of the 2012 Republican Natl Convention Committee Amicus Brief

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