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Amendment Two

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Virgil Beato

Published: October 25, 2008

Voters all across the state have an opportunity to protect the interest of children, by casting a yes vote for Amendment 2. State legislatures all across the country understand that the marriage-based, two-parent family, consisting of a father and a mother, offers the best socioeconomic safeguards for children. This is why 26 states affirm marriage as the exclusive union of one man and one woman in their constitutions. Additionally, 19 more states (including Florida), have prohibitions against same-sex marriage or polygamy in their statutes.

In spite of the benefits of marriage to children, some critics argue that many children raised by divorced or single-parents have turned out just as fine as children brought up by a married father and mother. I admire the sacrifices made by many hard-working single parents who work hard to raise their children with solid moral values, and strongly believe that a compassionate society should offer its assistance to a single mother or father that for whatever reason experienced a divorced. Nevertheless, we must recognize that the covenant that a husband and wife make in marriage offers the only solid foundation for the well-being of children.

Proponents of gay marriage point to a few cases of children that are supposedly raised successfully by homosexual couples. However, these samples are too small to take into consideration the impact that normalizing homosexual parenting will have on society as a whole. Additionally, by giving homosexuals the right to marry, adults living in polygamous and polyamorous unions (a group of cohabiting adults) will also demand that their unions be recognized as marriage. Hence, redefining marriage will open the door to social-engineering of children by experimenting with non-traditional forms of parenting that can be dangerous to their well-being.

In spite of current statues that prohibit same-sex marriage, radical judges in Florida can easily use the judicial system in order to overturn existing law. Therefore, by voting yes on Amendment 2, we will prevent judicial activists from overturning statues that protect the sanctity of marriage, which in turn sustains the well-being of children.

Virgil Beato
Sebring

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