hemselves to have a child then, according to Fairbanks, that would make gays just as good of a candidate for parenthood as anyone else. As long as “the commitment to parenthood is there, successful parenting is wholly within the gay couple’s grasp.” With successful parenting being defined earlier in his work Fairbanks has made a convincing argument. The author next brings to light moral ideals set by our society. He strongly pokes fun at Dan Quayle's failed attempt to condemn “Murphy Brown” for having a child out of wedlock. Quayle did not believe that a child could be brought up successfully without the “traditional man-woman household.” Fairbanks continues, “but the facts prove otherwise.” It is here he mentions data from the Family Pride Coalition. Their data, derived from the American Bar Association, points out that six to ten million American children were brought up around a gay parent. Fairbanks does mention that although these children are product of heterosexual relationships the numbers are climbing. Fairbanks’ refutes his opponents’ claim of gay couples being more “promiscuous and incapable of the kind of lasting, stable relationships that children need by proving that “sexual orientation is not really the issue.” By stating the fact that heterosexual couples are increasingly becoming divorced and thus can’t claim to be more stable than any homosexual relationship, Fairbanks affirms his argument that no matter the sexual preference a chance for instability as a couple is present. He also argues that if gay marriage would be legalized there is a greater potential for increase of committed gay relationships. Fairbanks makes another valuable argument regarding the standard family as is accepted in today’s society. He notes Quayle’s argument was based on religion, a religion which promotes one male heterosexual, one female heter...
