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Friday, March 28, 2008
Does Gay Marriage Ban Invalidate Custody Agreement?
In this Ohio case, (blogged earlier today by Imapp staff,)I am inclined to say no. An Ohio woman says the state's ban on same-sex marriage is grounds for barring her ex-partner from sharing custody with her son....
The dispute over custody began in 2005 after the women ended their relationship.
After their son was born in 1996, both women parented him. In order to ensure that Leach had a protected legal relationship with the child, the two women signed a joint custody agreement. Such agreements were approved by the Ohio Supreme Court in 2001.
That same year an Ohio court approved the joint custody agreement stating they would share custody.
After Leach and Fairchild broke up, Fairchild sought to terminate the custody agreement, citing the 2004 state amendment limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples. I don't particularly approve of same sex parenting. But that is not the issue here. These women entered into an agreement (which excluded the bio dad, of course, but never mind.) That explicit agreement sets this case apart from marriage. In a marriage, both members of the couple are assumed to be the parents. That presumption has been in place for centuries, precisely because it is a safe presumption for opposite sex couples. I think we would all be far better off if same sex couples handled their relationships through a series of contracts, rather than trying to rewrite the presumption of paternity into a generic "presumption of parentage." In this case, the two women did exactly what I think they should have done, and what all same sex couples ought to do: they signed an explicit agreement regarding the upbringing of this child. One of them now wants to set that agreement aside, because of strains in their relationship. I don't think the court should help her renege. Cross-posted at my personal blog.
posted by Jennifer Roback Morse at
11:33 PM | link
Any Serious Discussion of Race Must Address Out-of-Wedlock Births
From "Any serious discussion of race must address out-of-wedlock births" by Duncan Currie, Daily Standard, March 27, 2008:
...The most severe "erosion of black families" in the 20th century occurred in the years after the civil rights movement reached its apotheosis, when black economic opportunities were expanding rapidly... ...[T]he black out-of-wedlock birth rate ballooned from less than 25 percent in the early 1960s to 49 percent in 1975 and to 70 percent in 1995. The white rate increased from less than 5 percent in the early 1960s to 25 percent in 2005. The connection between family breakdown and child poverty is well established. In a 1991 American Sociological Review article, David J. Eggebeen and Daniel T. Lichter estimated that if black family composition had remained constant from 1960 to 1988, the black child poverty rate in 1988 would have been 28.4 percent instead of 45.6 percent... More recently, a 2002 study by Rector and two of his Heritage colleagues concluded that "if marriage were restored to 1960 levels," the black child poverty rate "would fall by nearly a third."... Due to America's racial history, blacks were uniquely vulnerable to the debilitating cultural trends of the post-1960s era and to the perverse incentives created by the federal welfare system. And indeed, today it is culture--not racism or a dearth of economic opportunities--that poses the biggest threat to black family structures, and thus to black progress. Any serious discussion of race must address that reality. Duncan Currie is managing editor of The American.
posted by Imapp Staff at
12:03 PM | link
Thursday, March 27, 2008
KY House Rejects Ban on Health Insurance for Domestic Partners
From "House rejects ban on universities' domestic partners health insurance," Courier-Journal, March 21, 2008:
FRANKFORT, Ky. – [The House Health and Welfare Committee yesterday voted 9 to 6 to reject] a Senate bill that would bar state universities and other public agencies from providing health insurance for domestic partners of employees... [Decisions since 2006 by the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville] to let employees purchase health insurance for their domestic partners triggered legislative efforts to ban the policy...
posted by Imapp Staff at
11:58 AM | link
Woman Argues OH SSM Ban Bars Ex From Sharing Custody
From "Woman Argues Ohio Anti-Gay Amendment Bars Ex From Sharing Custody," 365Gay.com, March 26, 2008:
(Columbus, Ohio) An Ohio woman says the state's ban on same-sex marriage is grounds for barring her ex-partner from sharing custody with her son. Thursday the Court of Appeals will hear her case. Last June a judge in Columbus ruled that the amendment has no bearing on a signed agreement between [the two women] that they would share custody of the boy, now aged 11... In addition to banning same-sex marriage the amendment, known as Issue 1, says the state "and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage."... Whichever way the court rules the case is likely to be appealed to the state Supreme Court...
posted by Imapp Staff at
11:49 AM | link
New Study: 45% of UK Marriages Will End in Divorce
From "Half of marriages 'will end in divorce,'" 24dash.com, March 27, 2008:
Nearly half of all marriages will end in divorce, according to a study published today [on p.28 of the spring issue of Population Trends]. About 45% of marriages will not survive if current divorce rates continue - with almost half of these divorces happening before the couples reach their 10th anniversary. The study by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) [ONS news release here] is published just a day after reports that marriage rates have fallen to the lowest level since records began. Today's report says the proportion of marriages ending in divorce by the 50th anniversary has increased from 34% in 1979/80 to 45% in 2005...
posted by Imapp Staff at
10:00 AM | link
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
MAKING KIDS MONEY-SAVVY: Wall Street Journal
tips
posted by Eve at
10:22 PM | link
"IS SOCIETY READY FOR THIS PREGNANT HUSBAND?": The Advocate
more
posted by Eve at
9:36 PM | link
Glenn Stanton and Anthropologist Patrick Chapman Debate SSM
From "Glenn T. Stanton Responds to Professor Patrick Chapman," Box Turtle Bulletin, March 26, 2008:
Editor’s Note: Yesterday, we published Dr. Patrick Chapman’s critique of Glenn T. Stanton’s white paper, “Differing definitions of marriage and family” (PDF: 80KB/10 pages) Today, we are proud to present a guest post by Glenn Stanton in response to Dr. Chapman’s critique. Glenn T. Stanton is the director of Global Family Formation Studies at Focus On the Family. He is also the co-author (with Dr. Bill Maier) of Marriage On Trial: The Case Against Same-Sex Marriage and Parenting (InterVarsity Press: 2004). In considering this exchange with Professor Chapman, I think of that popular VISA commercial, but with a different spin: - Trading snippy jabs with an opponent on the marriage question: 96 cents,
- Engaging in spirited, thoughtful discussion on a deeply important and controversial issue with a serious opponent: priceless.
That is how I feel about this exchange and I am thankful for Box Turtle’s invitation to engage Professor Chapman on my paper comparing definitions of marriage and family used by anthropologists with those used by same-sex marriage advocates. I also greatly appreciate Dr. Chapman’s thoughtfulness and civility of response. As he said, we have exchanged notes in the past and I have enjoyed and benefited from those interactions. Allow me to begin by explaining my intentions in writing my original report and the methodology I employed in that work...
posted by Imapp Staff at
12:28 PM | link
Mothers’ 'Other' Men Linked to Child Abuse
Bradford Wilcox's relevant paper--he's cited below--is “Protectors or Perpetrators? Fathers, Mothers, and Child Abuse and Neglect.”From "Mothers’ 'other' men linked to child abuse," News-Press, March 23, 2008:
Four children were harmed at the hands of men who pledged to love their mothers — men who weren’t their biological fathers, Investigators say: - A 13-year-old, raped and strangled by her stepfather.
- A 3-year-old, slammed against walls and whipped with belts by his mother’s boyfriend.
- A 50-pound, 6-year-old, battered by his 225-pound stepfather.
- A 14-month-old, choked and crushed by his mother’s fiance.
It all happened in Lee County. All in the past two years, according to authorities... While statistics from the local Department of Children and Families indicate natural mothers and fathers are to blame in the majority of child deaths caused by abuse and neglect, cases involving the mother’s paramour were almost all violent... [The CEO for the Children’s Advocacy Center in Fort Myers] said not all stepparents or boyfriends are abusers. But with those who are, she’s seen an increase in the severity of the injuries... Bradford Wilcox, sociologist at the University of Virginia whose research focuses on marriage and cohabitation, said child abuse cases involving a mother’s love interest are a side effect of the breakdown of marriage in society. “When a man has a child of his own or adopts an infant or toddler, he feels a sense of connection that allows him to regulate his emotions better than a man who has no biological ties to the child,” Wilcox said. “I think it’s the dark underbelly of family breakdown in our society. Kids are spending more time with unrelated males.”...
posted by Imapp Staff at
12:16 PM | link
New Study: Sports protects teen girls, but not boys from risky behavior
A new study shows that playiing sports is associated with a reduced risk a teenage girl does risky things, but has no eeffect on boys. Conversely, church and afterschoool activities protect boys, but not girls. Gender rears its persistent perplexing head. Details here.
posted by maggie at
11:48 AM | link
South Korean Marriage Registrations Hit Eight-Year High
From "Marriage Registrations Spike Upward in 2007," Chosun Ilbo, March 26, 2008:
Marriage registrations soared to an eight-year high last year, and a record number of babies were born, the National Statistical Office announced on Tuesday. These seem to be the effects of the 2006 Year of the Dog -- considered to be a particularly auspicious year to get married because it had two lunar springs -- and the 2007 Year of the Golden Pig -- considered a very auspicious year to have babies...
posted by Imapp Staff at
11:07 AM | link
UK Marriage Rates Lowest on Record
From "Marriage rates hit lowest rate since records began almost 150 years ago," Daily Mail (UK), March 26, 2008:
Marriage rates in England and Wales have plunged to their lowest rate since records began almost 150 years ago, according to the latest official figures [released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS)]. Only a fraction more than two per cent of woman and 2.28 per cent of men over the age of 16 chose to get married in 2006. The number of marriages for the whole year was just 236,980, a fall of four per cent on the previous year and lowest proportion of marriages since they were first recorded in 1862. It is also the lowest number of marriages since 1895, when 228,204 tied the knot... Marriage rates have been falling steadily over the past few decades, apart from a two-year gap between 2002 and 2004 when they actually rose...
posted by Imapp Staff at
9:22 AM | link
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
CHINA'S NEW EMPTY NEST: From Newsweek
here
posted by Eve at
4:57 PM | link
K. J. Lopez: Obama Could Be an Important Voice for Families
From "Dreams of His Father" by Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review Online, March 25:
...Sen. Barack Obama actually did an admirable thing in refusing to disingenuously disavow his friend and mentor [the Rev. Jeremiah Wright] just for the sake of a political win... But Obama’s story was incomplete... He left me asking, “But what about the father? Why didn’t he talk about his father’s abandonment of him and his family, and how that made his later relationship with Wright all the more important in his life?”...The fact is, Obama grew up without a father. And, I assume, Wright for him was a father figure. That may be how Wright got to be such an influence in his life. This would not have answered all concerns about Wright and Obama, but it would have presented a more compelling narrative and, more importantly, he could have delivered an important cultural message about the impact the absence of male role models has on a child. Obama has it in him to do as much. I know this because he already has. In his bestseller, The Audacity of Hope, Obama wrote that in black America, “the nuclear family is on the verge of collapse.” He felt it worth pointing out that “54 percent of all African-American children live in single-parent households, compared to about 23 percent of all white children.” Writing about his own struggles as a dad with a busy schedule, he remembers how he grew up without a father, and with “partial, incomplete” relationships with a grandfather and stepfather: “As I got older I came to recognize how hard it had been for my mother and grandmother to raise us without a strong male presence in the house. I felt as well the mark that a father’s absence can leave on a child. I determined that my father’s irresponsibility toward his children, my stepfather’s remoteness and my grandfather’s failures would all become object lessons for me, and that my own children would have a father they could count on.”... Obama and I will never agree on all marriage and family issues. He’s radically pro-choice, and he wouldn’t protect traditional marriage in the face of faux marriage conjured by courts and legislatures. But he could be an important voice for men and for families; he could find some common ground with social conservatives who fight for the same. And that would be something audaciously hopeful.
posted by Imapp Staff at
9:15 AM | link
Monday, March 24, 2008
MD Senate Approves Tax Benefits for Unwed Couples
From "Tax benefits for unwed couples approved by Md. Senate," AP, March 21, 2008:
Unmarried couples, gay and straight, could qualify for property benefits given to married couples under a bill tentatively approved by the Maryland Senate. The bill allows domestic partners to avoid transfer and recordation taxes when transferring property to their partners or stepchildren. The tax benefit is currently given only to married couples. Senators signed off on the measure after voting to close debate and prevent any filibuster attempt. The Senate already has voted to expand medical decision-making powers for domestic partners. The measures are before lawmakers amid signals from leaders that gay marriage will not be considered this year.
posted by Imapp Staff at
11:05 AM | link
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