Roy Scherer: 'Vote for the children'

Roy B. Scherer is a man I’ve known for about 35 years. His brand of Libertarian political philosophy and his keen sense of social justice have always been at the center of his dogged activism.

Longtime Virginia politicians, as well as political writers, are quite familiar with Scherer (pictured right, my photo) and his opinions. Whether I agree with him on a particular issue, or not, I know Roy to be a thoughtful man, whose beliefs seem to come from his experience in life, rather than some canned party line sort of thinking.

This time I couldn’t agree with him more. Below this paragraph is Scherer’s thinking on the Marshall-Newman amendment, which is deceptively being called the “Marriage Amendment” by some of its proponents:

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I'd like to encourage people to vote for the children on Tuesday.

Two of my close friends have been together for fourteen years, and they have two children, twelve and seven years old. They’re delightful, and both of their mothers love them very much.

Their birth mother stays at home, minds the house, and home-schools the children. Their other mother works at her profession, pays the mortgage and other bills, and helps with the house and the kids.

Since the parents realize that sometimes bad things can happen, they’ve taken the precaution of making a contract (something that would not have been necessary if they had been allowed to marry). The breadwinner has acknowledged that the children are hers, and that she assumes full responsibility for their care and education. Should they break up, or if their birth mother should die, the children are provided for. Also, the birth mother and the children have been covered for years under the other mother's insurance policy at work.

That is, they are provided for right now. If the so-called marriage amendment is passed, both the insurance and the contract will be explicitly nullified, since they are intended to provide the “rights, benefits, [and] obligations” of marriage.

That means that if the birth mother or either of the children should have a serious illness, the insurance that they've been paying for will not be allowed to cover it, and the family will go bankrupt. It also means that if the birth mother should die, their other mother will no longer have an obligation, nor even any right, to care for them. The Commonwealth would have to take the children and place them in an orphanage or in foster homes.

Please, vote for the children, and defeat the so-called “marriage amendment.”

-- Roy B. Scherer