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Wide gulf on same-sex marriage ban
Proposal may affect more than just gay couples By WILL SENTELL
For Hank Yarborough and his wife Whitney, adding a same-sex marriage ban to the Louisiana Constitution makes perfect sense. "Marriage is really about children," said Hank Yarborough, who spoke as he rocked the couple's 5-month-old daughter Caroline at their home in Prairieville.
"It takes a man and a woman to make a child," he said. "It takes a man and a woman to raise a child."
But Gerald W. Thibodeaux and Mark J. Stanford of Lafayette, who call themselves life partners, vehemently oppose the proposed constitutional amendment, which voters will decide on Saturday.
They contend it would jeopardize private contracts enjoyed by gay couples and others, including wills and health benefits, and might even make it impossible for them to visit each other in the hospital.
"Why are people so concerned about gay folks?" Stanford asked.
The differing views point up the gulf that divides backers and opponents of one of the most contentious ballot issues Louisiana voters have decided in years.
It is also the latest chapter in a 10-month national debate that has triggered arguments in statehouses, courts and the ballot box.
Louisiana law already bans same-sex marriages. The proposal would let voters decide whether to add that prohibition to the state constitution.
The measure would:
· Define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
· Require state officials and courts to recognize only marriages between one man and one woman.
· Ban the state from recognizing any legal status that is the same or similar to marriage for unmarried couples.
· Prohibit courts and state officials from recognizing unions from other states that do not unite a man and a woman.
Louisiana and 38 other states already have laws that ban same-sex marriages and refuse to recognize such marriages if allowed in other states.
Voters in Louisiana and 11 other states are deciding whether to define marriage in their constitutions this year, according to the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana.
The state has about 358,000 gay and lesbian residents, said the Forum For Equality Foundation, which opposes the measure.
The group says the amendment could also hurt about 75,000 unmarried heterosexual couples who live together and may find their own private arrangements in jeopardy.
Backers contend the change is needed to boost the legal protection of Louisiana's same-sex ban, especially since judges in other states have taken differing views on what marriage means.
"I would rather the people of Louisiana decide the definition of marriage than activist judges from a liberal state like Massachusetts," Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Metairie, said.
Scalise was the House sponsor of the proposed amendment, which won lopsided approval in the Legislature earlier this year.
John Rawls, a New Orleans attorney who led legal efforts to remove the measure from the Sept. 18 ballot, said even if voters approve it -- politicians generally predict the measure will pass -- legal challenges will begin anew.
"The gay and lesbian community is not going to sit by," Rawls said. "We did not try to bring same-sex (marriage) into this state. The so-called Christian Right came after us. We are going to fight back."
The split is already evident in the views of the Yarboroughs on one side and Thibodeaux and Stanford on the other.
The Yarboroughs have been married for seven years. She is 29 and readily calls herself a stay-at-home mom. He is 34 and works in the financial services industry. Both grew up in South Carolina and moved here four years ago from Greenville, S.C.
Whitney Yarborough labels same-sex marriage an experiment similar to no-fault divorce, which she said has had a devastating effect on children in the past 30 years.
"Children need a mom and a dad," she said. "I think a constitutional amendment is a wise, pro-active move to make."
Thibodeaux and Stanford said they exchanged vows 11 years ago at a family gathering in Winnie, Texas. Thibodeaux, 53, is a residential designer -- akin to an architect -- who works out of his home.
Stanford, 43, is a faux finisher. He uses paints to create products that resemble marble, suede and the like. He is also a clinical social worker.
Thibodeaux is from Crowley and Stanford is from Opelousas.
Thibodeaux and Stanford say the ballot measure is not about a ban on same-sex marriages since it is already prohibited by state law. The real danger, they said, is the proposed ban on marriage-like benefits for unmarried couples. Those benefits are called "legal incidents of marriage."
Opponents say about 1,400 legal benefits are governed by federal, state or local laws: retirement, disability, tax, health care, wills, power of attorney and hundreds of others.
Stanford said he can make medical decisions through power of attorney for Thibodeaux, who underwent heart surgery recently, but believes such rights would be in jeopardy if the amendment passes.
"I certainly couldn't do that if I did not have access," he said. "The amendment is actually limiting the ability of unmarried couples to contract with each other."
PAR, which takes no position for or against the proposed amendment, noted that legal analysts disagree on what impact the measure would have on private contracts.
There is also disagreement on whether the measure would change benefits offered by some private firms and governments for domestic partners and whether it would hurt Louisiana's bid for economic development.
Critics see the ballot measure as a needless assault on the gay community.
"We were not making waves or bothering anybody," Stanford said.
But Whitney Yarborough counters that the drive for the measure stems from court rulings in other states that favor same-sex marriage.
"It is coming from a frustration with a judiciary that is run amok," she said.
