[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16149]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, there has been a great deal of debate 
lately about the definition of marriage. It seems that the position 
taken is determined largely by a person's world view. Some are 
primarily interested in what best serves adults. Issues such as health 
insurance benefits, Social Security benefits, survivor benefits, 
hospital visitation rights tend to dominate the debate. There is 
emphasis upon individual rights and personal freedoms.
  There is resentment of those who would attempt to limit the 
definition of marriage. On the other hand, there are those who are 
primarily interested in children's welfare and long-term cultural 
implications as they seek to define marriage. For these people, 
marriage is viewed as the most basic, elemental social contract. It is 
the bedrock of the culture. Its primary purpose is the conception and 
rearing of children in a stable, long-term relationship between a man 
and a woman. The strength of the culture, possibly for its very 
survival, depends upon this process.
  If one subscribes to the primacy of the importance of children, then 
certain facts appear to be incontrovertible. First, a man and a woman 
produce a child; no other arrangement seems to work very well. Second, 
research shows that children do better when they live with their 
biological father and mother in a long-term, stable relationship.
  Twelve leading family scholars summarized thousands of studies on 
child rearing as follows: children raised by both biological parents 
within a marriage are less likely to become unmarried parents, live in 
poverty, drop out of school, have poor grades, experience health 
problems, die as infants, abuse drugs and alcohol, experience mental 
illness, commit suicide, experience sexual and verbal abuse, engage in 
criminal behavior. And they conclude their observations as follows: 
``Marriage is more than a private, emotional relationship. It is also a 
social good.'' In other words, all of these behaviors certainly impact 
all of us as tax payers and certainly break down the culture.
  I worked closely with young people for 40 years and personally 
witnessed the emotional pain and dysfunctional behavior brought about 
by the destruction of marriages. Most of this dysfunction was caused by 
the absence of fathers. Fathers contribute to a child's well-being in a 
unique way. Mothers also obviously make a unique contribution. It takes 
both.
  Opponents of traditional marriage will refer to studies refuting this 
data. However, these studies almost always compare families where no 
father at all is present, are not longitudinal, and are poorly 
designed. Several countries, notably in Scandinavia, have changed the 
traditional definition of marriage. The result has been a decline in 
traditional marriage and a surge in out-of-wedlock births in these 
countries. Children born in such circumstances on average suffer 
significant dysfunction and distress.
  The strength of a culture can be measured by how it treats its most 
vulnerable citizens: its children. So the question before us today is 
this: Do we allow a small number of members of the judiciary to alter 
an institution which has been the backbone of this Nation? Do we allow 
these same jurists to do so with the great majority of our citizens in 
our cities and our States firmly opposed to a change? Forty-four of 50 
States have laws defining marriage in a traditional manner.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, this is a matter that speaks directly to the 
welfare of our children and our Nation. Same-sex marriage issues such 
as survivor benefits and health care benefits for adults can be 
addressed without doing violence to a time-honored institution which is 
vital to our national well-being and particularly to our children.

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