Not only did the decision by the Alabama Supreme Court ordering probate judges to stop issuing same-sex marriage licenses violate the U.S. Constitution, it is also hurting children of same-sex couples in Alabama, a legal expert who is involved in the U.S. Supreme Court same-sex marriage case says.
“The Alabama judges defended their refusal to enforce a federal court’s determination that the state’s exclusionary marriage law is unconstitutional, arguing that only marriage between a man and a woman can ‘provide the optimum environment for defining the responsibilities of parents and for raising children to become productive members of society,’” said Tanya Washington, associate professor of law at Georgia State University.
The characterization of Alabama’s same-sex marriage ban as a child protective measure is untrue and irresponsible, and has been rejected over and over by many federal district and circuit courts, she explained.
“This conclusion obscures the harmful impact of these bans on children in same-sex families, and treats and labels those families as inferior to other families,” Washington continued. “This observation is informed by gendered stereotypes regarding parental competencies, reflects bias against gays and lesbians, and is contradicted by credible, empirical data – approximately 150 studies, documenting no harmful outcomes for children that are unique to same-sex families.”
Washington is currently part of a group filing an amicus curiae brief in the current case before the U.S. Supreme Court about same-sex marriage. She has researched extensively on educational equity and issues arising at the intersection of domestic relations, race and children’s constitutional rights. Her scholarship has been published in numerous legal journals.
Prior to joining Georgia State Law, Washington was a toxic tort defense litigator at Piper & Marbury. She holds a B.A. degree from James Madison University and a J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law. She completed the Albert M. Sacks Fellowship, the A. Leon Higginbotham Fellowship and earned her LL.M. fromHarvard Law School. She also completed a visiting assistant professorship at the University of Maryland School of Law.
For more information, including links to her publications, visit http://law.gsu.edu/profile/tanya-monique-washington/
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