170,000 biological, step or adopted children. joining me is director of communications for the family equality council. steven, it s nice to see you. as we saw on the steps spreext court this week, one of the couple bees hind the prop 8 suit, they brought their twin sons with them to the arguments. i want to play briefly what the kids had to say after the hearing, take a look. i just want to say how incredibly proud we are of our parents. we love them, we love our family, and we look forward to the day when we will be treated equally, just like our neighbors families. so, steve, what justice kennedy said this week about the families directly in california. what does that mean to lgbt families living across the u.s.? well thomas, i think clearly justice kennedy gets it. the court and our country cannot have a full understanding of the issues in this case, until they take into account the real-life
experiences of the millions of kids in our country who have same-sex parents. that s why we thought it was so important to elevate their voices. we were thrilled to be invited to file an amicus brief with the court that elevated the voices of these children. because clearly, i think here s what s important there are no better people to talk about the importance of marriage in this country, than those people who benefit the most which are the children. let s talk more about that. according to new research from the family equality council, of children living with same-sex parents, the majority are biological children. other families, they do have adopted and foster kids. is there research, steve, to suggest that families with same-sex parents fare any differently? let s remind everybody that heterosexual couples and heterosexual parents can raise great kids, they can raise bad kids. the same argument can go for gay and lesbian parents. they can raise amazing children or they cannot. i
modern american families. a recent headline from the boston globe reveals when mitt romney was governor of massachusetts he rejected new birth certificates for gay parents and ordered a legal review for each child they claimed to be theirs. meanwhile, voters in four states have their say on election day for ballot initiatives to legalize marriage equality in the states of washington, minnesota, maryland and maine, the president supports those initiatives, mitt romney is opposed and supports doma. joining me now is the executive editor of the executive director, excuse me, of the family equality council. jen, it s great to have you here and i want to dig deeper, mitt romney and this report from the boston globe, the governor rejected creating accurate birth certificates for gay parents in massachusetts where marriage equality has been legalized over the last nine years this despite a department of public health lawyer saying the places that those kids at an unfair advantage in t
declined to comment on this report. is that what people should expect from a romney presidency, look at how he governs massachusetts for how he could govern the country? yeah. look, at family equality council what we talk about is advocating for families, and i think you only need to look at the records of these two candidates, ignore the polls, ignore the ads and really look at their records because if you do that, when you go into the voting booth, i think if you re voting for your family, you ll have a really clear choice. i know, you know, when i go into the voting booth i m going to be thinking about my son, tim, tom, and matthew and saying, who s the best choice for them, for the 2 million kids who are being raised by 1 million lgbt families in the united states today. jen, as we look at the research for the four states, the ballot initiatives where marriage equalfy is taking place, is it likely that marriage equality will become a reality in those four states? absolutely.
pursuit of equality is fundamental to the american story. the successful repeal of don t ask, don t tell proved to the nation that just like the country we defend, we share different backgrounds, different values, different beliefs, but together, we are the greatest military force in the world. defense secretary leon panetta out with a new video this morning honoring gay and lesbian service members during lgbt pride month. this afternoon, president obama will host a reception in the white house for lgbt americans and straight allies to recognize june pride month. this is another significant step for an administration that s made equality for the lgbt community a stronger part of its platform throughout the past year. jennifer christler is executive director of the family equality council and joins me in washington, d.c. as we look back on the comments made by the obama administration, in support of marriage equality and not just