"Marriage equality does not diminish the worth of your relationships; it simply recognizes the worth of ours." - Penny Wong
Why is Marriage Equality important?
- Civil unions do not provide the same rights, benefits, and obligations as civil marriage. These equal protections are necessary to ensure all families are afforded the same rights and also have the same legal and civil responsibilities.
- Children raised in families with two married parents are more likely to be successful academically, have better physical and emotional health, and are less likely to live in poverty.
- Marriages benefit both the home and larger community by strengthening human relationships. For this reason, the family is understood to be the fundamental unity of society, the foundation from which religious, civic, and legal organizations naturally develop and flourish.
- Marriage equality enriches the lives of not just same-sex couples, but their family members, and friends.
How do I avoid mistakes when talking about Marriage Equality?
- Emphasize Marriage Values: Marriage isn't just about rights. Focusing the conversation on public policy disputes over a set of rights can mislead people into believe that same-sex couples have different motivations for marriage that opposite-sex couples.
- Focus on the 'people' aspect of relationships: Conversations about marriage are conversations about people. The focus should be on how people are hurt when they're denied the ability to marry the person they love.
- Refrain from using interracial marriage or African American Civil Rights Movement comparisons: While it may be tempting to make comparisons of marriage equality and the Civil Rights movement, understand that historical impacts of the two are vastly different. The struggle of African Americans to be considered as equally human as White Americans does not equate to why same-sex couples are hurt when they are shut out of marriage.