Two things keep going through my mind following the State Supreme Court’s upholding of Prop. 8. First is the good news that Ted Olson has taken a leading role on behalf of same-sex couples. Second is that my gay friends who have kids are more qualified to parent than I am.
Ted Olson, whose conservative credentials are impeccable, must be deleting thousands of nasty emails in his in-box this week from folks who adhere to the religious wing of the GOP. He deserves a medal, though, for being a Republican and a conservative who embraces the true meaning of both.
The media hastily refer to Mr. Olson as the lead attorney in Bush vs. Gore 2000. Rarely, do reporters mention he was also President Bush’s solicitor general and was narrowly overlooked for Supreme Court nominations in favor of John Roberts and Sam Alito. Think how interesting Ted Olson on the Supreme Court would be right now!
Another fact reporters overlook is that Olson lost his wife on 9-11. She was a passenger on the hijacked American Airlines flight that crashed into the Pentagon. Possibly, this loss has given him a unique perspective on love and marriage.
Having someone of Ted Olson’s background and stature on board is a positive sign that conservatives who truly value minimal interference from the government on our personal lives are coming around. We need more conservatives to embrace their roots.
So, why do I think that my gay friends are more qualified to have kids than I am?
The day before the Prop. 8 ruling, a close friend was describing the process to adopt his child. It entailed parenting classes and CPR certification, while my decision to have kids only depended on my wife agreeing and a healthy sperm count. I never took a parenting class, and I still don’t know how to administer CPR. And a quick tally of other straight parents at baseball practice shows that they don’t know CPR or how to administer the Heimlich maneuver on infants, either.
This does not mean that gay couples are necessarily better parents. Instead, it merely means that for gay and straight parents who adopt kids, they may be better prepared to parent than I am.