Monday, April 02, 2007
Northwest Herald Endorses Civil Unions
I don’t usually read the Northwest Herald’s editorials.
But, as anyone who knows me will attest, I do not pass up a newsstand without looking at the front pages of the news sections.
On Sunday, the Northwest Herald puts its editorial on the front page of a section, so I saw,
While the headline does not advocate civil unions, the little inset for those who had not interest in reading the text did.
I think its first sentence was
The editorial starts off with the assertion, “The bill does not legalize gay marriage.”
Wrong.
It does exactly that without awarding the title “marriage.”
That’s why long-time Chicago Democrat Mary Flowers voted against it. Here’s what the Chicago Tribune wrote,
But I guess folks shouldn't be too surprised by the NW Herald's endorsement.
It endorsed the Gay Games Regatta, saying it "would be good exposure for the city."
I guess readers should not be surprised, considering the paper’s cheer leading on the Gay Games’ regatta’s being held on Crystal Lake.
The paper let Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley present his praise of the Gay Games.
And it opposed the Protect Marriage advisory referendum before the petitions were even filed.
Endorsing civil unions at least shows consistency.
Coincidentally, researcher Paul Cameron, PhD, delivered his and his mathematician son Kirk’s analysis of the largest sex survey ever conducted—the 2003 Canadian Community Health survey of 121,300 adults--to the Eastern Psychological Association two days before.
The findings: only 1.4% of adults engaged in homosexual behavior.
And: 2% of 18-44 year olds, 1% of 50 year olds, and only a third of a percent of subjects 60+ considered themselves homosexual. Thus homosexual activity was much more common among younger adults.
The two Cameron PhD’s also reported findings on the ages of death of those in “gay marriages” in two northern European countries—Denmark and Norway.
Over 12 years in Denmark, homosexual partners died at an average age of 51, while men married to women died at 74. 52 versus 77 in Norway, where the sample was smaller and only over 5 years.
The figures for lesbians were similar. Those in gay marriages lived to an average age of 56 in both countries, while women married to men lived to 78 in Denmark and 81 in Norway.
The period studied in Denmark was from 1990-2002; in Norway, 1997-2002.
Cameron also refers to the obituary studies he did from the Washington Blade. After analyzing them, he concluded that homosexuals and lesbians died about 20 years earlier than the average. The Scandinavian government statistics are pretty close to his own,as you can see if you take a look at the study.
The obituary-based studies were roundly criticized by gay activists. I wonder what they think now.
But, as anyone who knows me will attest, I do not pass up a newsstand without looking at the front pages of the news sections.
On Sunday, the Northwest Herald puts its editorial on the front page of a section, so I saw,
State ponders civil unionsFrom that headline, one might think there would be an “on the one hand, this, and, on the other hand, that” approach, but that was not the case.
While the headline does not advocate civil unions, the little inset for those who had not interest in reading the text did.
I think its first sentence was
We favor civil unions.That’s a lot more straightforward than the editorial.
The editorial starts off with the assertion, “The bill does not legalize gay marriage.”
Wrong.
It does exactly that without awarding the title “marriage.”
That’s why long-time Chicago Democrat Mary Flowers voted against it. Here’s what the Chicago Tribune wrote,
"There is a fine line, and I think Rep. Harris crossed it," said Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago), who opposed the bill in committee. "I think what he did is make this, indirectly, same-sex marriage but called it something else. ... Marriage is between a man and a woman."In fact, the bill would not have gotten out of committee without the vote of North Shore Republican Beth Coulson.
But I guess folks shouldn't be too surprised by the NW Herald's endorsement.
It endorsed the Gay Games Regatta, saying it "would be good exposure for the city."
I guess readers should not be surprised, considering the paper’s cheer leading on the Gay Games’ regatta’s being held on Crystal Lake.
The paper let Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley present his praise of the Gay Games.
And it opposed the Protect Marriage advisory referendum before the petitions were even filed.
Endorsing civil unions at least shows consistency.
Coincidentally, researcher Paul Cameron, PhD, delivered his and his mathematician son Kirk’s analysis of the largest sex survey ever conducted—the 2003 Canadian Community Health survey of 121,300 adults--to the Eastern Psychological Association two days before.
The findings: only 1.4% of adults engaged in homosexual behavior.
And: 2% of 18-44 year olds, 1% of 50 year olds, and only a third of a percent of subjects 60+ considered themselves homosexual. Thus homosexual activity was much more common among younger adults.
The two Cameron PhD’s also reported findings on the ages of death of those in “gay marriages” in two northern European countries—Denmark and Norway.
Over 12 years in Denmark, homosexual partners died at an average age of 51, while men married to women died at 74. 52 versus 77 in Norway, where the sample was smaller and only over 5 years.
The figures for lesbians were similar. Those in gay marriages lived to an average age of 56 in both countries, while women married to men lived to 78 in Denmark and 81 in Norway.
The period studied in Denmark was from 1990-2002; in Norway, 1997-2002.
Cameron also refers to the obituary studies he did from the Washington Blade. After analyzing them, he concluded that homosexuals and lesbians died about 20 years earlier than the average. The Scandinavian government statistics are pretty close to his own,as you can see if you take a look at the study.
The obituary-based studies were roundly criticized by gay activists. I wonder what they think now.
Labels: Aaron Shepley, Canada, Civil Unions, Denmark, Homosexuals, Kirk Cameron, Lesbians, Lifespan, Northwest Herald, Norway, Paul Cameron
