A group of religious organizations, including the Mormon Church, Southern Baptist Convention, and National Association of Evangelicals, have submitted amicus briefs to the Supreme Court arguing it should uphold both the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8. The briefs, written by Mormon Church lawyer Von Keetch, make similar points to other anti-gay briefs about the inferiority of same-sex couples, but notably tries to brush aside the research that suggests otherwise (HT: Kathleen Perrin):

DOMA BRIEF: Whether the Nation retains the traditional definition of marriage or redefines marriage to include same-sex couples is a social issue with potentially wide-ranging consequences. By their nature, such policy questions cannot be definitively answered by science, professional opinion, or legal reasoning alone. Although we are certainly persuaded by scholarly opinion supporting traditional marriage, the truth is that social science scholars, for instance, disagree about the effects of gay parenting on children. Whatever the ultimate conclusions may be, “nothing in the Constitution requires [government] to accept as truth the most advanced and sophisticated [scientific] opinion.”

PROP 8 BRIEF: Admittedly, there is an active debate within the social sciences over whether some of these common sense judgments are empirically sound. But “nothing in the Constitution requires California to accept as truth the most advanced and sophisticated [scientific] opinion.” Lawmakers – including the people of California – are entitled to “act on various unprovable assumptions,” including those that in “the sum of [their] experience” lead them to conclude that traditional marriage and the family structure it supports deserve distinctive legal protection.

In the footnotes, Keetch cites the Mark Regnerus “family structures” study, as well as the simultaneously published meta-analysis by Loren Marks, as evidence of research with a negative conclusion on same-sex parenting. But an internal audit by the publishing journal found Regnerus’ conclusions about same-sex parenting to be “bullshit,” and Marks’ analysis to be “lowbrow” and unworthy of publication. Despite how conservative groups have championed Regnerus’ methods and results, Regnerus himself has admitted that his research was not about gay parenting.

Contrary to what these religious groups claim, there is no debate among social scientists about the capacity of same-sex couples to raise children. In fact, it has already been nine years since the American Psychological Association resolved to support same-sex adoption, and subsequent research continues to confirm that children raised in such households fare just as well as children raised by opposite-sex couples. Researchers have objected that other briefs filed in these cases have cited their studies to draw conclusions about same-sex parenting that are not evident from the research.

The language in these particular briefs suggest that the religious groups don’t care what the research says anyway, hence their haste to dismiss it. Given their concern for protecting children, what is more telling is their refusal to acknowledge the two million children already being raised by same-sex couples. Even if the Court chooses to ignore the science that same-sex couples could make equally good parents, it cannot ignore that they already are doing so.

Marriage Equality sponsor Sen. Heather Steans (D)

With a vote of 9-5, the Illinois Senate Executive Committee just approved the marriage equality bill (Senate Bill 110), just as it had during the lame duck session. Senate President John Cullerton (D) hopes to have the whole chamber vote on the bill on Valentine’s Day next week. With Democratic super-majorities in both chambers, the legislation is expected to advance quite quickly.

After a long day of debate, the United Kingdon’s House of Commons voted to approve marriage equality legislation with a vote of 400-175. Today’s vote was the second reading of the bill, which means it still has committee work and a vote in the House of Lords ahead of it. Still, this is a monumental sign that Britain will soon offer the freedom to marry to same-sex couples. Read through the Guardian’s liveblog for a glimpse at today’s debate and the protests outside it.

Sen. Adam Ebbin (D)

The Virginia Senate has followed the lead of the House of Delegates and approved a bill with a 22-18 vote that would require public universities to fund student groups that discriminate. Sen. Adam Ebbin (D), the only openly gay legislator in the state, made clear the intention of the bill in no uncertain terms:

EBBIN: Virginia law and Federal Law allow discrimination against gay people, and that’s what this bill is about – plain and simple. It’s not about freedom of expression, because groups are allowed to express themselves any way they want. It’s about using tax payer dollars to fund discrimination.

Indeed, any campus group that chooses to discriminate against gay students would still be able to access student fees that those gay students pay into under this bill. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Mark Obenshain (R), claimed that the bill is important to prevent a non-vegan from leading a vegan club. Apparently, Obenshain doesn’t trust Virginia university students to elect club leaders that uphold the values of their organizations.

Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) is expected to sign the legislation.

Tennessee state Sen. Stacey Campfield (R) is making the press rounds to stump for the new and worsened version of his odious “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which prohibits teachers in grades K-8 from acknowledging the existence of homosexuality and also requires school officials to out gay students to their families. He has already made it clear he believes homosexuality itself is dangerous, and in an interview with TMZ, he doubled down on that absurd belief. After explaining the AIDS epidemic in Africa by claiming that sodomy was more common there among heterosexuals, Campfield went on to compare being gay to using heroin:

TMZ: If they’re going to engage in homosexual acts anyway, why not teach them how to protect themselves from [HIV]?

CAMPFIELD: You know, you could say the same thing about kids who are shooting heroin. We need to show them the best ways to shoot up. No, we don’t. Why do we have to hypersexualize little children? Why can’t we just let little kids be little kids for a while? Why do we have to have little kids be…?

TMZ: Do you believe in sex education period?

CAMPFIELD: …If you can show me where it works, great.

Watch the whole interview (HT: Alvin McEwen):

Sex education actually works when a comprehensive safe sex curriculum is taught, and fails in states that only teach abstinence. Southern states like Mississippi, which has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the country, are starting to realize this. It’s doubtful, however, that Campfield would be interested in such facts.

Campfield’s understanding of homosexuality is limited to the performance of sex acts. It seems beyond his comprehension that those “little kids” might have same-sex parents. He has no sympathy for those children who might realize at a very young age that they are not the same as all the other kids. Discussing the existence of gay people does nothing to “sexualize” young people, whatever that would even mean. It’s no surprise that the TMZ crew had to wrestle with the idea that Campfield had ever been elected; his understanding of the world around him is severely narrow.

Super Bowl champion Brendon Ayanbadejo has, as promised, used the spotlight of winning the big game to speak out for marriage equality. CNN’s Don Lemon conducted an extended interview today with Ayanbadejo, who used the opportunity to not only reiterate his support for marriage equality, but to endorse the fair treatment for all members of the LGBT community:

AYANBADEJO: Everyone’s been talking to gay people their whole lives whether we know it or not. We really believe that you’re born gay. I’ve had plenty of conversations with people that are gay and they say they are born gay, no different than me being born this beautiful almond coconut color that I am. People are born gay. So why treat them any differently? It’s time that we treat everybody fairly. And not only are we trying to dictate who people should love. We’re also trying to dictate who people should be. If a woman wants to wear a man’s clothes or if a man wants to wear a woman’s clothes or you feel like you’re a woman on the inside and you’re really a man. Who cares? Let’s just treat everybody equally. Let’s move on. Let’s evolve as a culture, as a people.

He also commented on the 49ers who made various anti-gay comments, including Chris Culliver’s remarks that he wouldn’t play with a gay player and subsequent non-apology apology. According to Ayanbadejo, the Ravens won because they loved each other more. Watch the full interview to see what a true LGBT ally looks like (HT: Towleroad):

This morning, Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention took to CNN to warn of the supposed consequences of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) lifting its ban on gay Scouts, as it is considering doing this week. Land claimed that BSA won its case for discrimination at the Supreme Court because it defined that discrimination as a “core value,” and if it begins allowing local chapters to accept gay scouts, its policies will be vulnerable to new legal challenges. Host John Berman pressed Land on whether prohibiting gay scouts was actually the “heart and soul” of the BSA, and Land explained that he believes the most important aspect of a Scout’s character is being “morally straight” — literally:

LAND: The Scouts have said for themselves for over a hundred years that traditional morality is at the core value of scouting, teaching them to be “morally straight.” [...]

Homosexuals, by definition, are attracted to people of the same sex. Now I’m not accusing homosexuals of being pedophiles, but I’m accusing homosexuals of being what they say they are: attracted to males. How many people that are listening to me would allow their teenage girls to go on campouts and engage in camping activities with heterosexual males? They wouldn’t. [...]

This verges on being beyond the realm of the rational, and it’s going to lead to human tragedy, and the human tragedy is going to be, sadly, boys and men who are going to end up in relationships that are going to be tragic. [...]

Boy Scouts have the right to define character, and they define character as being “morally straight” and that involves being sexually pure and being a heterosexual.

Watch it:

Land’s essential argument is that discriminating against gay Scouts is the glue that holds the entire organization together. This is fairly insulting to the many values and skills the Scouts teach that have nothing to do with the anti-gay policy and erases the many Scouts who have come out as gay after great accomplishments in the organization. When asked why that one value was so important, Land relied on the trite conservative argument that somehow children will be at risk if there are gay Scout leaders, which the Southern Baptist Convention has joined other anti-gay hate groups in putting forth. Land may claim he’s not calling gay men pedophiles, but he’s still arguing that gay men are more likely to have inappropriate relationships with young Scouts, which are essentially the same thing.

Responding to news that an Oregon baker refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, Baltimore-based Ace of Cakes star Duff Goldman sent out an open offer to bake and transport a wedding cake for them completely free of charge. The executive chef of Charm City Cakes told the Huffington Post that it makes “absolutely no sense” for a cake decorator to take a stand against a couple’s nuptials:

GOLDMAN: I just wanted to say that… if the couple that’s out there — if you guys want, I will make you a cake for free, drive it out to Portland at no charge, just to right this wrong, because this guy’s an idiot.

For a cake decorator to really feel like he needed to take a stand and say, “You’re not getting married. Or I’m not providing the sweet enjoyment for your wedding!” It just make absolutely no sense. It’s petty, it’s small. I mean this guy has wrapped up his hatred in the cloak of religion.

Watch the full interview at the Huffington Post.

The brides’ names have not been revealed, but they did file a complaint against Sweet Cakes by Melissa, the shop that refused to provide them with a wedding cake.