In what can only be described as astonishing, the chief witness in favor of California's same-sex marriage ban announced today he has changed his position.
As SF Appeal is reporting, David Blankenhorn, president of the New York-based Institute for American Values, wrote an op-ed essay published in The New York Times today that indicates his shift on marriage equality.
"I opposed gay marriage believing that children have the right, insofar as society makes it possible, to know and to be cared for by the two parents who brought them into this world," Blankenhorn writes.
He goes on to note:
"For me, the most important is the equal dignity of homosexual love. I don’t believe that opposite-sex and same-sex relationships are the same, but I do believe, with growing numbers of Americans, that the time for denigrating or stigmatizing same-sex relationships is over. Whatever one’s definition of marriage, legally recognizing gay and lesbian couples and their children is a victory for basic fairness."
He then concludes:
"Instead of fighting gay marriage, I’d like to help build new coalitions bringing together gays who want to strengthen marriage with straight people who want to do the same. For example, once we accept gay marriage, might we also agree that marrying before having children is a vital cultural value that all of us should do more to embrace?
Can we agree that, for all lovers who want their love to last, marriage is preferable to cohabitation? Can we discuss whether both gays and straight people should think twice before denying children born through artificial reproductive technology the right to know and be known by their biological parents?"
Check out a timeline of Proposition 8 below:
