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Abstract:
Marriage for same-sex couples is arguably the public and political issue related to
marriage and family in the United States today (and indeed in many parts of the world). In recent
years, 18 states have passed ballot measures on constitutional amendments that limit civil
marriage to “one man and one woman” (or variations on that theme); several additional states
anticipate similar amendments in the fall of 2006 and in coming years. Many states and
communities have experienced significant media and other public attention that ranged from
supportive to oppositional with regard to these measures. The opinions and attitudes of young
people have been largely ignored within these debates, except for periodic examples in which
adults (or organizations) make claims that such marriage limitations “protect children.” The
Survey on Marriage Rights and School Safety was designed to understand adolescents’ attitudes
about marriage for same-sex couples, to examine possible links between the ongoing public
debates and their school safety and mental health, and to use this information to inform public
and policy debates about marriage for same-sex couples with information from adolescents’ own
words and from their perspectives. A total of 604 9th-12th grade students from 42 states
participated in the online survey in the 2005-2006 school year. Results indicate that frequent and
supportive discussion about marriage for same-sex couples at school was associated with school
safety; in contrast, supportive media coverage was associated with school safety regardless of the
frequency of reported coverage. In conclusion we consider implications of these results for
research on children’s understandings of rights and the role of marriage in society, as well as for
policy and advocacy with and for young people.
Convention