Shameful Exploitation of Children by Maxim

“Exploiting children’s innocence is not part of a decent campaign,” is the response of Cameron Law, a spokesperson for civilunions.org.nz commenting on a submission prepared by the Maxim Institute in their efforts to oppose the Civil Union and Relationships (Statutory References) Bills.

Maxim are encouraging their supporters to get children to sign a submission, which includes the following lines:

‘We feel it is important for the government to say it is best for children when parents are married.’

‘We would hate even more the idea of having a second mum in the house, pushing dad out of the way.’

‘Why do you want to take away any reason to get married?’

“Is it ethical conduct to ask children to sign submissions which put words in their mouths? We don’t think it’s at all ethical. It smacks of exploitation” says Cameron Law.

“This is a transparent attempt to use young people in the service of ideas which they may not share, or have thought about. The idea that children feel that marriage is under siege by Civil Unions is not logical - there is no evidence to support it.

“Almost every study done on the topic (same-sex parenting vs different-sex) by respected researchers using sound methodologies has found no statistically significant differences regarding child development in same-sex households. Studies indicate that two adults in the household produce on average better parenting outcomes than one and that same-sex parents produce outcomes very similar to heterosexual parents.

“What evidence does show is that children need loving, stable families to grow up. Civil Unions give their parents another option in protecting their relationships. They respect the choices adults make and do not dictate moral positions to them.

“As such, they are in tune with New Zealand values; they are supported by the community; and they are in line with mainstream international practice.

“Love doesn’t discriminate – why should the law?” Cameron Law said.

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