A woman who was brought up by a lesbian couple has spoken out against gay marriage saying that her father’s absence left a “huge hole”.
Heather Barwick, a mother of four from South Carolina, previously supported same-sex marriage and even took part in gay rights marches.
She announced her change of heart in an article for The Federalist, an American web magazine.
Long-term consequences
Mrs Barwick said: “I don’t support gay marriage. But it might not be for the reasons that you think”.
She added: “It’s because of the nature of the same-sex relationship itself.”
The mother said that growing up she had “supported and advocated for gay marriage” but now that she can reflect on her childhood, she realises the “long-term consequences that same-sex parenting had”.
Longing for a father
She continued, “it’s only now, as I watch my children loving and being loved by their father each day, that I can see the beauty and wisdom in traditional marriage and parenting”.
Mrs Barwick argued that: “Same-sex marriage and parenting withholds either a mother or father from a child while telling him or her that it doesn’t matter.”
She added: “My father’s absence created a huge hole in me, and I ached every day for a dad.”
Denial
The mother said, “by and large, the best and most successful family structure is one in which kids are being raised by both their mother and father”.
According to Mrs Barwick, gay marriage “doesn’t just redefine marriage, but also parenting. It promotes and normalizes a family structure that necessarily denies us something precious and foundational”.
She concluded by saying that this is a hard conversation for gay people to have but stressed that it needs to be talked about.
Supreme Court case
Earlier this month the date was announced for the US Supreme Court to begin considering oral arguments for a case on same-sex marriage.
It will start hearing the case on 28 April, with a decision expected by the end of June.