Diane Rufino responds to those whose anger has been piqued by her advocacy for only heterosexual marriage, part I | Eastern North Carolina Now

   Publisher's note: Once again, Diane Rufino has angered those people whom have zealously advocated for same sex marriage. Diane has written a number of position pieces stating well her position that marriage should be between one man and one woman. Her extensive knowledge on her position has become the grist to fuel the vitriolic comments against her person.

    I usually write lengthy articles complete with proper authority, but this time I tried to keep it fairly short so people would read it, but I have read the studies to support what I wrote about children being raised without proper gender role models. Studies show that children clearly benefit by being raised in a traditional family environment - with a father (male) and a mother (female). Granted, there are also other studies which show that children raised by same-sex parents perform similarly to those raised by heterosexual parents. However, as I am a scientist who has designed experiments and studies for 16 years, I can tell you that a good number of these studies have inherent flaws that render findings inconclusive and not able to be properly compared to the "control" group (children of heterosexual parents). For that reason, I, in good conscience, could not rely on the findings. Furthermore, while some of these studies show that children of lesbian parents (there is virtually no data on children raised by homosexual male parents) "perform similarly" to those raised by heterosexual parents, the studies fail to highlight other effects that have been observed, such as the tendencies of male children to act overly feminine and the increased tendency of children (males and females) to become homosexual themselves. I've been told that I need to "keep my religion out of government."

    Looks like the problem is the other way around..... I want government to stay out of religion. That is the stronger premise on which our country was founded, and not the former. When I was married, the priest quoted from the Bible. When I attended my friend's wedding last week-end, the pastor also quoted from the Bible. In fact he spent some time comparing the covenant of marriage to God's covenant with His church. Religion is ALREADY in marriage. It has been that way since about
the 12th century (and this is only going from memory). Since ancient Roman and Greek times, marriage was almost compulsory. Men were expected to marry and produce children. Men took wives "to produce lawful children." Marriage was always about producing and raising children. About the 12th century, priests became part of the marriage ceremony to "bless" the union from which children would be born. Marriage was considered a sacrament and a union to be recognized by the church so that "what God has joined should not be separated by man" (or government).

    If people refuse to address the religious implications of marriage, then maybe the argument for them should be the issue of morality. Government (state government, that is) has the legitimate power to regulate for the morality of its people. Nothing, aside from the Church itself, instills proper moral values than a stable family unit. "Morality" refers to the most important code of conduct put forward and accepted by a group of individuals as important to guide them for the good of society. Children learn from their families. They learn by example. They model themselves after those they love and admire. They watch family member interactions. Moral codes are most often based on religious principles. When moral dilemmas are presented, if we as people fail to choose the moral high ground, then there are consequences that we suffer. We pay with tarnished reputations, damaged relationships, poor self-esteem, and diseases, and we jeopardize the raising of those who are most innocent and important - our children, our legacy. Almost a century ago, Mahatma Gandhi talked about morality. He warned that nations would suffer morality crises if there were any of the following: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without Character, Commerce without morality, Science without humility, Worship without sacrifice, and Politics without principles. Our government and our society was indeed founded on judeo-christian values and laws, whether atheists and liberals like to acknowledge that or not. I know too many who enjoy the freedoms that our system provides but criticize the
foundations that provided those freedoms. Anyway, here are some of the papers, reports, and studies that I've looked at over the
past 2 years or so to back up what I've written:

    http://www.aolnews.com/2010/10/17/study-gay-parents-more-likely-to-have-gay-kids/ ("Gay Parents More Likely to Have Gay Kids," Oct. 17, 2010; the Walter Schumm study)

    http://www.drtraycehansen.com/Pages/writings_notinthebest.html (Dr. Trayce Hansen, PhD)

    http://www.drtraycehansen.com/Pages/writings_prohomo.html (Dr. Trayce Hansen, PhD, "Pro-Homosexual

    Researchers Conceal Findings: Children Raised by Openly Homosexual Parents More Likely to Engage in Homosexuality") Children raised by homosexual or bisexual parents are approximately 7
times more likely than the general population to develop a non-heterosexual preference.

    http://www.narth.com/docs/does.html (David Crary, "Professors Take Issue With Gay-Parenting Research," The Los Angeles Times, April 27, 2001)

    http://factsaboutyouth.com/posts/are-children-with-same-sex-parents-at-a-disadvantage/ (Glen Stanton, "Are Children with Same-Sex Parents at a Disadvantage?," Facts About Youth - a Project of the
American College of Pediatricians, 2012)

    http://www.clcns.com/Rekers.PDF (George Rekers and Mark Kilgus, "Studies of Homosexual Parenting: A Critical Review," Regent University Law Review, Vol. 14:343)

    Paul Cameron & Kirk Cameron, Homosexual Parents, 31 ADOLESCENCE 757, 768 (1996) http://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF08L45.pdf Peter Sprigg and Timothy Dailey, (co-editors), Chapter 5 ("Do Homosexual Parents Pose Risks to Children?"), Getting It Straight: What the Research Shows About Homosexuality, 2004, Family Research Council.

    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,29901,00.html ("Homosexual Parenting Studies Are Flawed, Report Says," July 18, 2001)

    http://www.citizenlink.com/2012/03/06/studies-children-raised-by-lesbians-not-problem-free/ (Children raised by lesbian couples are not without problems)

    http://www.ruthblog.org/2012/01/10/left-wing-rhetorical-strategies-mischaracterize-your-opponents%E2%80%99-statements/ (A study by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business proves that boys benefit behaviorally from having a home with a mom and a dad. The actual study is available at - http://www.nomblog.com/17767/)

    Diane Rufino has her own blog For Love of God and Country. Come and visit her. She'd love your company.