Children in single-parent families, children born to unmarried mothers, and children in stepfamilies or cohabiting relationships face higher risks of poor outcomes. There is thus value for children in promoting strong, stable marriages between biological parents," said Ryan T. Anderson. The first known marriage occurred between a man named Adam and a woman named Eve. This understanding of marriage as the union of man and woman is shared by the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions; by ancient Greek and Roman thinkers untouched by these religions; and by various Enlightenment philosophers. In the supreme court case Windsor v. United states, the 3rd section of the DOMA (defense of marriage act) was unjustly removed, depriving the real meaning of marriage away from people. Many claimed the DOMA was meant to exploit and shame the views of homosexuals, however it was meant to defend the traditional meaning of marriage, thus the name of the act. .
Having two parents of the same sex denies children of having either a mother or father, both of which are crucial to the proper development of the child. Studies show "Opposite sex parenting gives children examples of both masculinity and femininity in action, and the complementary interaction of these qualities enables them to grow up with a healthy and balanced view of life and relationships." "If same-sex civil marriage becomes common, most same-sex couples with children would be lesbian couples. This would mean that we would have yet more children being raised apart from fathers. Among other things, we know that fathers excel in reducing antisocial behavior and delinquency in boys and sexual activity in girls.
What is fascinating is that fathers exercise a unique social and biological influence on their children. For instance, a recent study of father absence on girls found that girls who grew up apart from their biological father were much more likely to experience early puberty and a teen pregnancy than girls who spent their entire childhood in an intact family.