Here, the full text of the ruling of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, that just struck down Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Above are Timothy Bostic and Tony London, lead plaintiffs in the case, Bostic v. Schaefer.
A few key excerpts:
We recognize that same-sex marriage makes some people deeply uncomfortable. However, inertia and apprehension are not legitimate bases for denying same-sex couples due process and equal protection of the laws. Civil marriage is one of the cornerstones of our way of life. It allows individuals to celebrate and publicly declare their intentions to form lifelong partnerships, which provide unparalleled intimacy, companionship, emotional support, and security. The choice of whether and whom to marry is an intensely personal decision that alters the course of an individual’s life. Denying same-sex couples this choice prohibits them from participating fully in our society, which is precisely the type of segregation that the Fourteenth Amendment cannot countenance.
Judge Floyd wrote that opponents of same-sex marriage claim that,
…“children develop best when reared by their married biological parents in a stable family unit.†They dwell on the importance of “gender- differentiated parenting†and argue that sanctioning same-sex marriage will deprive children of the benefit of being raised by a mother and a father, who have “distinct parenting styles.†In essence, the Proponents argue that the Virginia Marriage Laws safeguard children by preventing same-sex couples from marrying and starting inferior families.
The Opponents and their amici cast serious doubt on the accuracy of the Proponents’ contentions. For example, as the American Psychological Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychiatric Association, National Association of Social Workers, and Virginia Psychological Association (collectively, the APA) explain in their amicus brief, “there is no scientific evidence that parenting effectiveness is related to parental sexual orientation,†and “the same factorsâ€â€”including family stability, economicresources, and the quality of parent-child relationships—“are linked to children’s positive development, whether they are raised by heterosexual, lesbian, or gay parents.â€Â According to the APA, “the parenting abilities of gay men and lesbians—and the positive outcomes for their children—are not areas where most credible scientific researchers disagree,†and the contrary studies that the Proponents cite “do not reflect the current state of scientific knowledge.â€Â See also DeBoer, 973 F. Supp.2d at 760-68 (making factual findings and reaching the same conclusion). In fact, the APA explains that, by preventing same-sex couples from marrying, the Virginia Marriage Laws actually harm the children of same-sex couples by stigmatizing their families and robbing them of the stability, economic security, and togetherness that marriage fosters. The Supreme Court reached a similar conclusion in Windsor, in which it observed that failing to recognize same-sex marriages “humiliates tens of thousands of children now being raised by same-sex couples†and “makes it even more difficult for the children to understand the integrity and closeness of their own family and its concord with other families in their community and in their daily lives.â€Â 133 S. Ct. at 2694.
The full text of the 98-page ruling, via Equality Case Files:
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