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6 Regent J.L. & Pub. Pol'y 157 (2013-2014)
Redefining Marriage, Redefining Parenthood

handle is hein.journals/rejoupp6 and id is 173 raw text is: REDEFINING MARRIAGE, REDEFINING PARENTHOOD* WILLIAM C. DUNCAN* INTRODUCTION: DECONSTRUCTING LEGAL PARENTHOOD The effort to legally redefine marriage to include same-sex couples has engendered a variety of predictions as to its likely effect,' from ushering in greater tolerance for those who experience same-sex attractions,2 to creating greater opportunities for conflicts between the work of religious organizations and persons of faith and discrimination laws.' While there is merit to these predictions, the most predictable consequence of redefining marriage to include same-sex couples will be to alter, perhaps permanently, the default rules for determining the legal status of parenthood, untethering them from the principles and interests with which they have long been entwined. This, in turn, will have significant implications for our social understanding of what children are entitled to and what institutions can and should do to promote these. Past decades have witnessed a revolutionary shift in the understanding of parenting away from settled norms serving * Symposium: Contemporary Issues Regarding Marriage and Children, J. Reuben Clark Jr. Law School, Brigham Young University (March 15, 2013). * Director, Marriage Law Foundation. 1. Ironically, those who claim that redefining marriage will not harm marriage admit that it will have numerous effects, but deny that these effects will be harmful. See Amici Curiae Brief of Utah Pride Ctr., et al. as Amici Curiae Supporting Respondents 30-31, Hollingsworth v. Perry, 558 U.S. 183 (2013) (No. 12-144) and United States v. Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013) (No. 12-307). 2. See ANDREW SULLIVAN, VIRTUALLY NORMAL: AN ARGUMENT ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY 185 (1995). 3. See Anthony R. Picarello, Jr., Introduction to SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY: EMERGING CONFLICTS at xvii (Douglas Laycock et al. eds., 2008). 157

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