Defying the elites, Romney stands tallPage 2 of 2 -- But if gender is irrelevant to marriage, it must be irrelevant to parenthood, too. To legalize same-sex marriage is to proclaim that whether boys and girls are raised with mothers and fathers is a matter of no concern. Already, Romney noted, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health has "asked whether we must rewrite our state birth certificates to conform to our court's ruling. Must we remove `father' and `mother' and replace them with `parent A' and `parent B?' "
It won't end with rewritten birth certificates. Romney pointed out that boys and girls will now have to be taught that there is no particular reason why families should be headed by a man and a woman. Of course there have always been homes in which, by reason of death or family breakup, children have been raised without a father or a mother. But young people have never been instructed to accept fatherlessness or motherlessness as normal. After Goodridge, they will be. "Changing the definition of marriage to include same-sex unions," Romney said, "will lead to further far-reaching changes that would influence the development of our children." Teachers and textbooks "may be required to assert absolute societal indifference between traditional marriage and same-sex practice." The raising of children in a culture that treats heterosexual and homosexual unions as equivalent and interchangeable, he warned, will "significantly affect child development, family dynamics, and societal structures." To open that Pandora's box without knowing what will emerge is reckless, to say the least. Romney began and ended his testimony with a strong repudiation of prejudice and intolerance. But that won't protect him from being castigated as a bigot, a hater, a homophobe -- all the insults that rain down on those who insist that gay men and lesbians can be treated with fairness and respect without abandoning something as fundamental as the meaning of marriage. This wasn't an issue Romney had to take on. He could have played it safe -- accepted Goodridge as a matter beyond his control, decided it wasn't worth fighting over. His willingness to stick his neck out is both principled and brave. Agree or disagree with the stand he is taking, give the man credit for being a profile in courage.
Jeff Jacoby's e-mail address is jacoby@globe.com. © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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