Talking points:

Marital Rights for Lesbians and Gay Men

1. Civil marriage is associated with a unique set of legal, economic, and social benefits that support relationships and are associated with psychological well-being;
2. Like heterosexuals, lesbians and gay men enter into and sustain loving, committed relationships that are integral to a sense of well-being , personal fulfillment, and realization of individual potential;
1. Sexual bonds, a component of intimate relationships, have the potential to impart distinctive qualities to relationships beyond the emotional fulfillment associated with other relationships such as with children, parents, friends (Linda Waite and Maggie Gallagher: The Case For Marriage). Marriage provides social legitimacy to the intimate (sexual) bonds of adults and is required for the recognition of full personhood across many cultures, including our own;
3. Intimate, committed relationships, and by extension, institutions that support them, are associated with psychological health in coupled individuals and resilience in the face of life stressors;
4. Institutional support for same-sex couples in the form of marriage would immediately affect the lives of large numbers of lesbians and gay men currently in relationships and many more lesbians and gay men who hope to be in relationships;
5. Denying lesbians and gay men the opportunity to marry denies them multiple benefits of marriage that support relationships and promote mental health. As an act of discrimination, it compounds sexual orientation stigma that has been linked to psychological distress and increased odds of being diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder;
6. Non-marital legal recognition of relationships does not provide the full range of legal, economic, and social benefits, and associated mental health benefits, provided by marriage. Legal recognition short of marriage is not transportable across state lines and subjects lesbians and gay men to the vicissitudes of local law and law enforcement;
7. Denying lesbians and gay men the right to marry is particularly burdensome to older lesbians and gay men who face the stressors of aging, health, and finances without the legal, economic, and social provisions and protections of marriage. Nearly one in 10 same-sex couples are comprised of two people over 65 or older; nearly one in five same-sex couples are comprised of two people 55 or older;
8. Millions of children are currently being raised by same-sex couples. Multiple, credible research studies find no differences in parenting skills by sexual orientation or in the psychological health or adjustment of children raised by heterosexual or homosexual parents;
9. Extending marital rights to lesbians and gay men will enhance the psychological well-being of children raised by same-sex couples by providing legal standing for non-biological parents, ensuring that children are eligible to receive support and benefits from both parents, and removing stigma attached to parental unmarried status.

Other points:

1. Epidemiological research finds that the advent of marital and domestic partnership rights for same-sex couples in Europe is not associated with declines in heterosexual marriage or in increased rates of out-of-wedlock pregnancy;
2. Trends in the United States and Europe over the past fifty years indicate a non-exclusive association of marriage and procreation. Many married persons are living longer or are remarrying after their procreative years; childrearing can and does occur outside the context of marriage, particularly in Europe where State benefits support marital and non-marital parenting;
3. Lesbians and gay men desire marriage for the same reasons that heterosexuals do: to solemnize their unions; to receive family and social support for their relationships; to become eligible for the extensive legal, economic, and social benefits accorded relationships when partners marry; and to provide greater security for their partners and children;
4. In one study, 74% of lesbians and gay men expressed an interest in marrying, if possible in their lives