The Washington Times' Web site has an interesting article "Va. event to promote marriage, 2-parent families", including quotes from W. Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project (NMP) at the University of Virginia. Yet, on the U.Va. website, there is no mention of gay marriage in the NMP literature.
One of NMP's stated goals is "Conduct research on the ways in which children, race, class, immigration, ethnicity, religion, and poverty shape the quality and stability of contemporary marriage." Wouldn't "sexual orientation" fit easily into the NMP's stated goal?
In one of NMP's Latest Releases, "Cohabitation, Marriage And Child Wellbeing: A Cross-National Perspective" by David Popenoe, the author speaks of "heterosexual cohabitation" purposely excluding any mention of homosexuality, as if gays weren't an integral part of the cross-national perspective. Likewise, in her "Testimony of Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, Ph.D ... Before the Committee On Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee On Children And Families U.S. Senate", Dr. Whitehead makes no mention of gay marriage and instead implies that marriage is obviously between men and women, though her response to the question "What is Marriage For?" would apply equally well to homosexuals.
What makes this troubling isn't merely the tacit bias of intellectuals, but the hypocrisy of the NMP claim of being "nonpartisan and nonsectarian" when they are clearly espousing right-wing, socially conservative views. By allowing the NMP to make unfounded claims of nonpartisanship, U.Va. is itself complicit in this hypocrisy. If Wilcox, Popenoe, and Whitehead believe that marriage matters, then the role of gay marriage is an obvious topic that must be included in the discussion. Ignoring the subject only highlights the NMP's real bias, which contrasts sharply with the claims of U.Va.'s Voices of Diversity that "We envision a community of understanding, acceptance and respect."
Robert Burson\nSEAS '83
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