press release regarding marriage and the california supreme court and the rights of children

Below is a press release we sent out today regarding the CA Supreme Court oral arguments hearing on marriage. The press release contains the points we want to make regarding the Stand with Children theme. Please consider using some of these points in your letters to the editor. To download the press release, go to http://ccgaction.org/downloads /PR08-03-04MarriageCASupremeCou rt.pdf I will share more comments on the hearing shortly. For the Common Good, Bill May Catholics for the Common Good 415 651-4171 415 738-0421 Fax PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: March 4, 2008 Justyna Krukowska (415) 651-4171 "Stand with Children" Comments on the Oral Arguments California Supreme Court Marriage Case SAN FRANCISCO – “As I listened to the arguments in the California Supreme Court today, there was no mention of the rights and interests of children in the marriage of their parents,” said Bill May, spokesperson for Stand with Children. “That is unfortunate, because the court’s decision will be between the narrow private interests of a small group of adults and the common interest of every child in having a married mother and father.” Stand with Children is an educational project that focuses on the stake children have in the marriage of their parents. “The interest of children is best served by laws encouraging and supporting marriage for their mothers and fathers rather than by supporting those who would intentionally deprive them of a mother or a father,” May emphasized. “Redefining marriage will disconnect it from the most basic public interest, – encouraging people who engage in reproductive acts to enter marriage commitments which provide their children with a mother and father.” “Children can’t articulate their best interest; they depend on adults to do it for them. For thousands of years marriage has been focused on procreating and raising children. Marriage has never been focused on the status of adults or severed from the reality that sexual relations between a man and a woman have the potential to generate new life.” “We know from our own experience it is natural to desire a married mother and father. Intentionally depriving a child of a mother or a father is wrong. In a recent Pew Research Center poll, 69% of respondents agreed, “a child needs a mother and a father to grow up happily.” (Pew Research Center, July 1, 2007) “Marriage between a man and a woman is in fact a public interest and not a lifestyle choice equivalent to cohabitation, single parenthood, or same-sex relationships. Marriage must be promoted, not watered down. Currently 40 percent of children are born out of wedlock and 34 percent are deprived of their biological fathers.” Stand with Children promotes the interest that every child has in the marriage of his or her parents. It is a project of the Catholics for the Common Good Institute (CCGI) and is co-sponsored by the California State Council of the Knights of Columbus. CCGI is an educational organization dedicated to bringing reason to the public square based on insights from Catholic social teachings related to the dignity of the human person, fundamental human rights, marriage and the family as the foundation of social justice, and commitment to the poor and vulnerable. Bill May serves as Chairman of Catholics for the Common Good.

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