MARRIAGE:

 

ADULT RIGHTS OR CHILDREN'S RIGHTS?

 

France rejects same sex marriage for the sake of children.

Canada ignores children to satisfy an adult minority.

 

Children now have rights and "to systematically give preference to adult aspirations over respect for these rights is not possible any more.” French National Assembly(1)

 

We declare that every child has a natural self-evident right to a mother and a father. Marriage between a man and a woman protects that right, even in cases of divorce, where the courts ensure that the child has an appropriate level of care from and access to both parents.

France, quoting the United Nations, agrees. Article 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that the child "shall have, as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents".

The Civil Marriage Act doesn't. Instead, it grants adults the right to replace a natural parent with a legal parent of another gender, making the child essentially fatherless, or motherless.

We declare that the married, biological family provides the optimal environment for raising children. There are exceptions to the rule, and some of us are living in them. But the ideal we want for our children and our grandchildren is a stable family with a married mother and father, even if we can't always provide that for our children.

Social Science agrees. Thousands of legitimate studies over the years agree that, overall, the married biological family serves children far better than any other family structure. It produces the most favorable rates in everything from academic excellence to avoiding crime, depression and suicide.

The Civil Marriage Act doesn't. In the name of equality for individual adults, it ignores children and suppresses the reality that the traditional family produces better outcomes for children. It also prevents the traditional family structure from being held up as the ideal.

We declare that since traditional marriage is the only family structure that provides a child with both a father and a mother, the government has a duty to support and defend it.

The United Nations agrees. Part 3, Article 10-1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights declares that "the widest possible protection and assistance should be accorded to the family... particularly for its establishment and while it is responsible for the care and education of dependent children."

The Civil Marriage Act undermines marriage. The Civil Marriage Act ignores children and transforms marriage into a vehicle for validating adult relationships and changing mores.

We declare that government is obligated to consider the impact on children before redefining marriage.

France, quoting the United Nations, agrees. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 3, states "In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration."

Our government refused to do so. During hearings and debates, references to children, their rights or their needs were swept aside because this was strictly an "adult equality issue" as children are not covered by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Our government has not only neglected to exercise any precaution with regards to children, it has also negated their right to a father and a mother.  

 

Contact your MP to have him reconsider marriage based on children's rights and re-establish for all children the right to a father and a mother.

 

March 7, 2006

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(1) Parliamentary Report on the Family and the Rights of Children, French National Assembly, Paris, January 25, 2006

Executive Summary (2 pages)   Complete report, in French (453 pages)