INDIANAPOLIS— In a short comment about public polling, House Speaker Brian Bosma exposed what some youth advocates see as a significant problem with the way lawmakers are approaching Indiana’s marriage debate.
The Indianapolis Republican said it doesn’t matter that a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions fares worse in polls of the general population rather than just likely voters.
More accurate polls of the voters who could decide the issue at the November 2014 ballot box, he said, show the measure “is still supported by a majority of Hoosiers, significantly.”
That, critics said, is not the population Bosma and others ought to focus on.
Rather than thinking about the issue in political terms, lawmakers should take time to consider what it means to all Hoosiers – especially children who can’t vote – said Mary Byrne, the executive director of the Indiana Youth Group.
At its core, that’s who the marriage debate is about.
Advocates of limiting the institution to one man and one woman make a simple argument: Children are best nurtured in stable homes that include a mother and a father, and if either one is missing, it’s important.
Supporters of same-sex marriage rights see it as an issue of human rights or at least personal autonomy, but central to their case is also the belief that two loving parents – no matter the gender – are better than one.
But Byrne said the choices adults make on this issue will also ring loudly through the halls of schools where every day young people grapple with the discovery of their own sexuality – a common experience that can bring them each different realities.
By initiating a drive to legally recognize only heterosexual Hoosiers’ relationships, government officials – albeit unintentionally – can make others’ lives harder. That’s especially true among young people, she said.
Byrne’s Indiana Youth Group is a shelter and support organization in Indianapolis for young people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or questioning their sexuality.
She said the push to ban same-sex marriage serves to “embolden” those who pick on children who are different.
“Our government leaders talking this way has an effect on the bullies. It has effect on the people that are going to be discriminating against these youth. And it also has an effect on the youth,” she said.
“It can’t help but tell young people that they’re not good enough, or that they are – in some cases – sinful, that they’re going to hell. It definitely affects their psyches, their self-image, their self-worth.”
And that’s an undeniable problem: Lesbian, gay and bisexual youths are statistically more likely to encounter verbal or physical violence in school. More importantly, recent studies show that those groups are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide as their peers.
“Those numbers are not going down yet,” Byrne said. “That’s what’s coming from this extra stress that they deal with in their life.”
As Indiana’s lawmakers consider majority Republicans’ push for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage or any other legal recognition of same-sex couples’ relationships, they would also be well-served to keep Byrne’s argument in mind.
Bosma and his colleagues would never want to embolden anyone who bullies any children. They would never condone ostracizing certain groups of young people in any way. Still, it’s an unfortunate reality of a debate they’re likely to start in the General Assembly next year.
Lawmakers might ultimately decide protecting marriage in its traditional form is worthwhile. Along the way, though, Byrne points out that they should be sure to remember that their words and actions will affect the daily lives and the aspirations of thousands of children who have little more control over their own sexuality than they do their own home environments.
Someone ought to think about those young people. After all, they can’t vote.