FEB. 25, 2004
UPDATED JUNE 7, 2004
UPDATED NOV. 2, 2004

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
Same-sex marriage in limbo

Eleven states voted Nov. 2 on state constitutional amendments that define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Will they follow the lead of Missouri, which approved a similar amendment in August? The flurry of ballot measures on this hot-button issue follows the November 2003 Massachusetts court ruling allowing same-sex marriages in that state, as well as brief periods in 2004 during which several communities - most notably San Francisco - issued wedding licenses to gay and lesbian couples. Most were later invalidated, and some licenses are in limbo while courts consider lawsuits.

Religion, values and ethics are at the heart of this issue. ReligionLink offers story ideas, national and regional interview sources, and background.

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Why it matters
National sources
Regional sources
Story ideas for reporters
Marriage law
Polls, surveys and reports
Religion and marriage
Marriage research and statistics
Articles

Story ideas for reporters
• What will conservatives do if the state amendment efforts fail? What will gay advocates do if the efforts succeed? And what will both groups do about the proposed federal constitutional amendment? There are many on both sides who have worked for decades for movement on this issue, either in government or in religious organizations. Do they sense that a decisive moment, finally, is at hand?
• Many people cite religious beliefs as a strong factor in their opinions about same-sex marriage. How do people with varying opinions say their religious beliefs affect their opinions on the how the debate and lobbying on the issue are conducted? On how people with conflicting opinions should treat each other once the matter is decided is some way, whether by state or national legislation or court ruling?
• Talk to the many people whose lives are somehow left in limbo during this debate. Some examples: same-sex couples who are now marrying who may later face a constitutional amendment banning their marriage; children of same-sex couples; wedding planners or financial advisers who are making plans for what they hope is an explosion of business from gay couples who plan to marry and need help making plans; members of gay couples whose partners want to marry and they don't, or vice versa; same-sex couples who have participated in commitment ceremonies but have since broken up; people who believe that they have faced discrimination because their same-sex relationship is public; gay teenagers who may face a decision about whether to officially marry, or see that possibility erased; gay partners who are hoping to marry for child custody or economic reasons; same-sex relationships in which one partner is dying and the couple wishes to be married; religious homosexuals who see marriage as a sacred and lifetime vow before God who are watching the mad rush to the altar in some places.
• And: parents facing questions from their children about what the same-sex marriage debate is about; families who have struggled with a gay child's relationship because of their own beliefs about homosexuality who now may see their government either reject or condone that relationship in some way; youth ministers and leaders of various faith groups who are fielding questions from kids; public school teachers who may be facing questions from students but who must keep their own religious views out of discussions; people who work in the expanding movement to promote, encourage and improve marriages amid a high divorce rate.
• Talk to people to find out whether they are changing their opinion about gay relationships, gay marriage or the government's role in them as they watch lobbying from both sides and as weddings take place in some places. What is changing their opinion? Did they think their opinion could ever change? If they say their opinion hasn't changed, do they think anything could change it?
• Same-sex marriage is one topic amid many deep concerns this election year, including the economy, military action overseas and the environment. In the same way, it has become one of the most high-profile topics for religious organizations divided over it at a time when they have many other urgent concerns. What do people on either side of the debate, whether they are in leadership positions or not, say about the amount of time, energy and money being taken up by the debate? Do any see or wish for a way to divert some of that energy and concern to other issues? Do they fear a politically convenient solution because it is an election year, rather than one that may be better for the country in the long run?
• Look for places to set stories where people with different opinions on same-sex marriage are in dialogue with each other. For example, religious congregations which include both homosexual and heterosexual members; religious congregations which may have a gay clergy leader not because they wanted one but because a clergy shortage left them with few choices; religious denominations (or regions or groups within them) that are participating in "discernment" processes designed to put people with different opinions in dialogue with each other in order to work toward reconciliation and a peaceful way to move forward together; support groups for parents with gay children where parents may have different levels of acceptance of homosexuality. What advice do they have for the country as it debates this divisive issue?

Why it matters
Religious beliefs influence opinions about homosexuality as well as how people treat each other. Most Americans say they want to live in a country whose civic life is based on good values and morals, but they are deeply divided about the government's role in determining what those values should be and what lengths the government should go to to encourage or enforce them.

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Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

National sources

AGAINST GAY MARRIAGE
• Raymond L. Flynn is president of Your Catholic Voice, a conservative Catholic group that supports a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. He also is the former ambassador to the Vatican and mayor of Boston. Contact Rowena Itchon, 415-989-1715, rowenai@msn.com, or Bill May, 661-869-1000, bmay@yourcatholicvoice.org.
• The Rev. Richard Cizik is vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals. He opposes same-sex marriage on the grounds that biblical marriage is between a man and a woman. Contact 202-789-1011, rcizik@aol.com.
• Robert A. Destro is professor of law and is co-director and founder of the Interdisciplinary Program in Law and Religion at the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Contact 202-319-5202.
• Sheikh Muhammed Nur Abdullah is president of the Islamic Society of North America and a marriage counselor. Contact 317-839-8157, president@isna.net. Secretary General Sayyid Syeed has also spoken out about same-sex marriage. He can be contacted at ext. 222, syeeds@isna.net.
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints strongly opposes same-sex marriages and has spent millions of dollars campaigning against such unions. Contact LDS church spokesman Dale Bills in Utah, 801-240-4377.
• Matt Daniels is president of the Alliance for Marriage, a bipartisan coalition of religious and political leaders backing a proposed constitutional amendment that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Contact Lynne Johnson, 703-934-1212.
• Maggie Gallagher is resident of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy in Washington. D.C. and a co-author of The Case for Marriage. Contact 202-216-9430, maggie@imapp.org.
• Mike Gabbard is founder and chairman of the Alliance for Traditional Marriage and Values and opposes same-sex marriage on moral and religious grounds. Contact 808-523-8451, info@atmv.org.
• David Blankenhorn is president of the pro-marriage Institute for American Values in New York, which has made it a point not to weigh in on the same-sex marriage debate, preferring instead to focus on building stable families. Contact 212-246-3942, info@americanvalues.org.
• Tony Perkins is president of the conservative Family Research Council, which opposes gay marriage. Contact 202-393-2100.
• Glenn Stanton is the senior analyst for marriage and sexuality at Focus on the Family in Colorado. Contact 719-548-4570, culturalissues@family.org.
• Sandy Rios is president of the Concerned Women for America, a conservative group that opposes same-sex marriage. Contact Rebecca Riggs, 202-488-7000, media.cwfa.org.
• Lou Sheldon is chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition, a conservative group that wants a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage, ban same-sex unions and ban gays from receiving benefits of any such unions. Contact 202-547-8570.
• The Rev. Donald E. Wildmon of Tupelo, Miss., is founder of the American Family Association, which has been actively working to push a constitutional amendment defining marriage as being a union between a man and a woman. Contact Tim Wildmon, 662-844-5036, afw@afa.net.

FOR GAY RIGHTS / GAY MARRIAGE
• Beth Jacklin is the coordinator of the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry, which opposes a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Contact 617-848-9900, info@rcfm.org.
• The Rev. Larry Greenfield and the Rev. Debra W. Haffner are co-directors of the Religious Institute for Sexual Morality, Justice and Healing , a network of network of clergy, religious educators, theologians, theological ethicists, and other religious leaders based in Norwalk, Conn. Contact 203-840-1148, 773-324-8580.
• Charles A. Cesaretti is executive director of the Center for Sexuality and Religion, which helps faith communities sexual spiritual health and justice. It is based in Wayne, Pa. Contact 610-995-0341.
• Evan Wolfson is a lawyer and executive director of Freedom to Marry. He argued the Boy Scout case before the Supreme Court, as well as the Hawaii marriage case. Contact 212-851-8418.
• E.J. Graff is the author of What is Marriage For?: The Strange Social History of Our Most Intimate Institution (Beacon Press, 2000) and an advocate for same-sex marriage. Contact 617-924-5172, ejgraff@gis.net.
• Al-Fatiha Foundation in Washington, D.C., is dedicated to Muslims who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender. Contact gaymuslims@yahoo.com.
• Mel White is founder and director of SoulForce, an interfaith group committed to "ending spiritual violence perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people." Contact 877-705-6393, mel@soulforce.org.
• Keith Boykin is president of the The National Black Justice Coalition of black lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered leaders who support same-sex marriage. He is the author of One More River to Cross: Black and Gay in America. Contact 212-330-6599.
• David Tseng is executive director of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. Contact 202-467-8180 ext. 216. Regional directors are listed here.
• Robin Tyler is national co-chair of Don't Amend, which is organizing against a constitutional amendment on marriage, and executive director of the Equality Project. Contact RTdontamend@aol.com.
• Anne Stanback, president of Love Makes a Family, which supports gay marriage but also backs broader legislation that would extend legal benefits such as end-of-life medical decisions and health benefits to gay couples. Contact 860-674-8942, ann@lmfct.org.
• Judith Schaeffer is deputy legal director of the liberal think tank People for the American Way, which opposes a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union between a man and a woman. Contact 202-467-4999 or 800-326-7329, pfaw@pfaw.org.
• Cheryl Jacques is president and executive director of the nation's largest gay advocacy organization, the Human Rights Campaign. Contact Mark Shields, 202-216-1564, mark.shields@hrc.org.
• Kate Kendall is executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Contact 415-392-6257, kendell@nclrights.org.
• Matt Foreman is executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. http://www.ngltf.org/ Contact 212-604-9830, mforeman@thetaskforce.org.

LEGAL EXPERTS
• Jay Sekulow is chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, an public interest law firm that supports a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Contact 757-226-2489.
• Ken Choe is a staff lawyer for the Lesbian and Gay Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. Contact 212-549-2553.
• Jon Davidson is senior counsel in the Western office of Lambda Legal, a gay and lesbian legal group. Contact 213-382-7600.
• Michael C. Dorf is a professor at Columbia University Law School. He is an expert on constitutional law. Contact 212-854-2672, michael.dorf@law.columbia.edu.
• Vikram Amar is a professor at the University of California's Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. He is an expert on constitutional law. Contact 415-565-4663, amarv@uchastings.edu.
• Michael J. Klarman is a James Monroe Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He is an expert in constitutional law, constitutional theory and constitutional history. Contact 434-924-3771, mjk6s@virginia.edu.

Background

Marriage law

• Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute hosts a page on marriage law, with links to recent and landmark decisions concerning marriage by the U.S. Supreme Court and appeals courts. Links are provided to the marriage law statutes of the 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.
• FindLaw.com offers a history of legal cases on same-sex marriage.
• U.S. Rep. Marilyn N. Musgrave, R-Colo., has proposed a constitutional amendment that states that "marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman" and that "neither this [Constitution] nor the constitution of any state, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups." Read the House and Senate version of the amendment by searching here for either "marriage amendment" or for "H.J.RES.56" and "S.J.RES26".
• Thirty-eight states have adopted Defense of Marriage Acts that affirm marriage as a contract between one man and one woman. The Marriage Law Project at Columbus University in Washington, D.C., gives a state-by-state list of links to statutes, pending litigation and case law, and Defense of Marriage Acts.
• In 1996, Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act, which says that states are not required to recognize a same-sex marriage performed in another state. It also effectively bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex unions by defining marriage as "a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife" and spouse as "a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife." Read an Oct. 28, 1996, Christianity Today article.
• The Massachusetts Supreme Court's Nov. 18, 2003, ruling was in a case brought by seven same-sex couples whose requests for state marriage licenses were rejected.
• Vermont is the only state that sanctions civil unions between people of the same sex. The law has been in effect since July 2000. Read the text of the 1999 Vermont Supreme Court decision, which said, "The state is constitutionally required to extend to same-sex couples the common benefits and protections that flow from marriage under Vermont law." That decision, Baker vs. State of Vermont, gives same-sex couples the legal benefits of marriage, if not the actual title "marriage." However, gay couples wed in Vermont do not have the rights of married couples in other states or under federal law. Courts in Hawaii and Alaska both issued rulings similar to the ones in Massachusetts and Vermont, but both state legislatures then adopted constitutional amendments that limited marriage to heterosexual couples.
• Some cities and counties around the country have enacted "domestic partner" laws that allow same-sex couples to have a few benefits of marriage or register as a couple for the purposes of inheriting or sharing insurance benefits. Lambda Legal has a state-by-state map.
• Religious Tolerance offers a number of resources and information on the same-sex marriage debate.
• The Family Research Council offers extensive information on efforts to push a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
• The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force offers a number of resources on efforts to promote same-sex marriages.

Polls, surveys and reports

• PollingReport.com lists recent polls on same-sex marriage.
• A June 4, 2004, Field Poll found that a majority of Californians disapprove of gay marriage. Read a San Jose Mercury News story (registration required).
• A 2003 survey on religion and homosexuality conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that religious beliefs are a factor in opposition to gay marriage.
• This July 24, 2003, survey on religion and politics from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press offers a breakdown on how people of various religious denominations view same-sex marriages.
• Read Sacred Vows, Public Purposes: Religion, the Marriage Movement and Marriage Policy, a 2002 report from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Religion and marriage

Other than one denomination that primarily serves gays and lesbians, no religious denomination has officially endorsed same-sex marriage. A couple have allowed clergy to choose whether to perform same-sex union ceremonies. However, it is not easy to say where many religious groups stand on gay marriage because it is one of the most divisive topics within most faith groups. Within most denominations - whatever their stand on gay marriage or ordination - there is a group of dissenters, and annual meetings regularly include heated debate, votes and reports on the topic.

Here are some faith groups that are notable for their stands:

• The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the country with 16 million members, opposes same-sex marriage. Read the Southern Baptist Convention's endorsement of the Federal Marriage Amendment.
• In 2000 Reform Judaism voted to allow rabbis to perform gay unions. Read the text of their resolution.
• The United Church of Christ, a mainline Protestant denomination of about 600,000 members, began ordaining homosexuals in 1980, and its clergy are free to perform same-sex marriages.
• The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, with 46,000 members, is a denomination that has "special outreach to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities" and performs gay marriages.
• Some people liken the movement for gay marriage to the Civil Rights movement, but some African-American church leaders disagree. Bishop George McKinney of San Diego's St. Stephen's Church of God in Christ, a church in one of the largest African-American denominations in the country, has said that gay rights efforts are not analogous to the Civil Rights movement. Contact 619-262-2671.

Marriage research and statistics

U.S. CENSUS
• Find statistics under Marital Status and Living Arrangements Data and Marriage and Divorce data. The bureau also tracks the longevity of marriages through its Survey of Income and Program Participation.
• For experts, do a staff search or search by subjects under Population.
• Contact Martin O'Connell, population branch chief, at 301-763-2406 or Jason Fields, a family demographer in the Fertility and Family branch, at 301-763-2416.
• The Census Bureau also follows trends through its population surveys, statistical samples conducted every two years, which follow changes in family and household makeup. Researchers found that about seven in ten of the nation's 72.3 million children under 18 lived with two parents in 2002. See the 2002 report "Children's Living Arrangements and Characteristics."

RESEARCH ON MARRIAGE
• The Center for Demography and Ecology at the University of Wisconsin conducts the National Survey of Families and Households. The newest survey data will be released in late fall. Contact survey researchers James A. Sweet, 608-262-8385; and Larry Bumpass, 608-262-2182.
• The Marriage Project at Rutgers University recently updated its "The State of Our Unions: The Social Health of Marriage in America, 2003," an annual compendium of trends and data about marriage, divorce, family circumstances of children and teen attitudes. Contact Professor David Popenoe: 732-445-7923, DPOPENOE@RCI.RUTGERS.EDU.
• At Jesuit Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., the Center for Marriage and Family does research on marriage, publishes that research and uses the findings to develop pastoral strategies for supporting healthy Christian marriage. Director Michael G. Lawler has written extensively about the Catholic Church's history and changing attitudes regarding marriage. Contact 402-280-2908.

Articles

• Stateline.org lists articles looking at the same-sex marriage movement in various states.
• Read a Feb. 20, 2004, Associated Press article posted by CNN.com on a New Mexico county that has started issuing same-sex marriage licenses.
• An interfaith coalition of many of Massachusetts' most prominent religious leaders asked the state legislature to preserve marriage as a heterosexual institution, according to a Feb. 8, 2004, Boston Globe story.
• A Feb. 6, 2004, Alan Wolfe column on Beliefnet.com looks at Americans' opposition to gay marriages and a constitutional amendment banning them.
• Read a Feb. 18, 2004, Boston Globe article on New Hampshire efforts to head-off a same-sex marriage controversy like the one in Massachusetts.
• Read a Feb. 5, 2004, Washington Times article on Ohio lawmakers moving to outlaw same-sex marriages.
• A Weekly Standard article posted at Crosswalk.com suggests that a federal marriage amendment is doomed to failure and that conservatives should instead pursue a marriage privilege protection law.
• Commonweal Magazine, an independent Catholic journal, devoted its Oct. 24, 2003, issue to the debate over same-sex marriage.
• A Sept. 18, 2003, story in the San Francisco Chronicle reported that an interfaith coalition of of African-American, Latino, Asian, Jewish, Catholic and Muslim religious leaders back a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.