Homosexuality: The State as Ultimate Arbiter of Parenthood
The State as Ultimate Arbiter of Parenthood Over and over, we are told that “permitting same-sex couples access to the designation of marriage will not deprive anyone of any rights.” That is a lie. When same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada in 2005 , parenting was immediately redefined. Canada’s gay marriage law, Bill C-38 , included a provision to erase the term “natural parent” and replace it across the board with gender -neutral “ legal parent” in federal law. Now all children only have “legal parents,” as defined by the state. By legally erasing biological parenthood in this way, the state ignores children’s foremost right: their immutable, intrinsic yearning to know and be raised by their own biological parents. Mothers and fathers bring unique and complementary gifts to their children. Contrary to the logic of same-sex marriage, the gender of parents matters for the healthy development of children . We know, for example, that the majority of incarcerated men did n