In an op-ed published this week, gay
marriage foe Frank Schubert claimed that children of same-sex couples
are poorly positioned to handle the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
Schubert ran California's 2008
Proposition 8 campaign, which overturned a state Supreme Court ruling
legalizing marriage for gay and lesbian couples. He went on to lead
ballot fights in other states, including Maine, North Carolina,
Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington state.
Schubert writes that the children of
married heterosexual couples are “better positioned to handle the
[coronavirus] crisis” than those of same-sex couples, single
parents, and cohabitating couples.
“As people shelter in place or
practice the new art of 'social distancing,' many are rediscovering
the universal lived experience that families with children anchored
by marriage are better positioned to handle the crisis,” Schubert
wrote.
Schubert argues that men and women are
“made for each other, body and soul, equal in every way.”
“Men and women are not the same, they
bring different strengths and approaches to everyday life, including
to the care of children. This will be useful and beneficial for
children, now during the crisis and later when it subsides.”
Schubert goes on to claim that an
“overwhelming body of evidence collected by social scientists
demonstrates that children raised in a family with their married
mother and father are much more likely to enjoy good and healthy
relationships with their parents, and with others.”
Such claims have previously not held up
under scrutiny.
(Related: Study:
Children raised by gay couples healthier, happier than general
population.)
Writing at GLAAD.com, guest contributor
Jeremy Hooper, who covered marriage equality as it made its way from
Hawaii to Massachusetts to the Supreme Court, responded to Schubert's
assertions.
“At a time when most cannot even
think of politics as usual because we are too focused on returning
life to normal, this man who has already done such unspeakable harm
against LGBTQ families is adding further insult to his injuries by
mocking families that don't look the way he believes they should.
Gross,” he
wrote.