Tom Minnery of the Colorado-based
Family Research Council (FRC) has said recognizing Colorado gay
couples with civil unions would hurt kids.
Such a bill cleared a Colorado Senate
panel last month after lawmakers heard hours of emotional testimony.
But the bill's real challenge lays in the Republican-controlled
House, where it died in committee last year.
In an op-ed published Wednesday by the
Denver
Post, Minnery argued that civil unions are unnecessary and
risky.
The impact of such recognition
“jeopardizes the rights of parents to have a say in what's taught
to their children in school – even as young as kindergarten –
about sexuality and marriage,” Minnery wrote.
“It endangers business owners who are
sued for not photographing or renting facilities for same-sex
ceremonies. Mostly, it impacts children who deserve every chance to
be raised in a home with their own married mom and dad rather than
the intentionally motherless or fatherless home created by same-sex
unions.”
“[I]f we say that marriage no longer
means one mom and one dad, then we have denied children at least a
chance to live in that special environment that gives them the best
opportunity for success in life,” he added.
Writing at EqualityMatters.org,
Carlos Maza noted that Colorado law currently requires parental
consent for school programs on sexuality, prohibits discrimination
based on sexual orientation and allows for second parent adoption for
gay couples.