Recently, I had a conversation with a visitor to the site through the comments section on one of my posts. Through this conversation, it became clear to me the damage that the half truths –  and sometimes, outright lies – can do when talking about these amendments. The mis-information comes from several places, including amendment supporters and some religious organizations. And we’ll see a lot more of the scare tactics used as we get closer to the election.

As I shared with this visitor, my hope is that through this site, I can help educate Minnesotans (and others who may read these posts) on what’s real and debunk what’s not. Take a minute to read through my response below and let me know your thoughts in the comments. If it resonates with you, please share this post with your networks and friends so that we can help educate Minnesotans together.

And Kevin, I truly mean it when I say that I appreciate the conversation.

Kevin,
I appreciate the continued conversation and the insight you share in your reply. I do agree, committed same-sex couples absolutely love and celebrate their relationship, regardless of marital status. However, they are denied many basic rights that opposite sex couples take for granted (can you imagine if one of your children were injured and the doctor told you that you had no right to visit him or her in the hospital because you weren’t considered their parent in the eyes of the law/constitution? It’s a terrible thought, and one that I hope no Minnesotan ever has to face, but it’s a reality for same-sex couples that have children.) That’s why this is such an important topic to me.

As for raising children, I do have to disagree with you on your statement that “all studies show overwhelmingly that the best situation by far is for kids to be raised by a mother and father-no other combo.” In reality, according to the American Psychological Association:

…there is no evidence to suggest that lesbian women or gay men are unfit to be parents or that psychosocial development among children of lesbian women or gay men is compromised relative to that among offspring of heterosexual parents. Not a single study has found children of lesbian or gay parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents.
(source: http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/parenting-full.pdf)

I’m so proud to be an “adopted uncle” to two wonderful kids raised by a loving and committed same-sex couple. They are some of the happiest (and sometimes spoiled!) kids I know. Here’s a really great video that I’d recommend you check out. Zach Wahls was also raised by a committed same-sex couple, and I think you’ll agree, he makes some really great points:

http://minnesotaforequality.com/zach-wahls-speaks-out/

As for the flurry of litigations or changes to curriculum you reference, unfortunately, these are all scare tactics the other side uses. Here’s a great article that debunks several claims made by amendment supporters (there are several more postings on my blog just like this one that debunk other claims):

http://minnesotaforequality.com/minnesota-marriage-continues-mislead/

I know that amendment supporters have a litany of articles or examples that they point to, however, when you dig deeper, you’ll find that in each of these cases, there’s more to the story. One of my biggest goals with this web site has been to simply educate folks that may not realize this. I try to do this with love and understanding, and I hope that folks see that in everything I post.

Finally, in response to your last statement about the lifestyle I chose, I want to encourage you to check out this post. It’s a very personal post and does a better job responding to the statement than I could do in this small comment box:

http://minnesotaforequality.com/facebook-note-friend-jessie/

Again, I so appreciate the continued conversation. While I don’t expect that a couple of emails will change your mind on something so core to your belief system, I do hope that this conversation provides some additional data points to think about and consider. -Mark