Same Old, Same Old for Same-Sex Unions?:
* Heterosexual marriage rates in Denmark actually increased after adoption of same-sex marriage. They are now the highest they have been since the early 1970s. In other countries that adopted same-sex partnerships, marriage rates remained the same or increased slightly.
* Divorce rates have remained the same.
* The majority of families with children in Scandinavia and the Netherlands are still headed by married parents. In fact, in Norway, 77 percent of couples with children are married, and 75 percent of Dutch families with children include married couples. By comparison, 72 percent of U.S. families with children are headed by married couples.
So much for the notion that same-sex marriage will cause the end of heterosexual marriage, as if people will protest the idea of more people being allowed to marry. And what’s this about divorce rates staying the same? Evidently, people aren’t divorcing over it either. Could it be that rational people don’t think letting same-sex couples marry affects their own commitment? Is marriage nothing but a tax break to some people? Some kind of shackle by which they hold onto someone who might not stick around otherwise? If marriage were outlawed for everyone, would couples break up?
Anyone remember the end of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” when he realized that
Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.
Obviously, a Danish study won’t convince anyone: most of us don’t need convincing and those who do would reject such a message of love, conciliation, and forgiveness. To do otherwise would dishonor their faith.