February 6, 2006. Dr. Paul Cameron — Chairman of the Family Research Institute, a Colorado-based think tank — has challenged Dr. James Dobson’s endorsement of a bill before the Colorado legislature that would grant to gay partners many of the legal rights currently reserved to married couples. Focus on the Family is supporting a bill proposed by Sen. Shawn Mitchell (R-Broomfield) that would give marriage-like benefits to homosexuals.

If passed, merely by signing a form with the county clerk, gay and lesbian partners would have property-sharing rights, decision-making powers over funerals and organ donations, and could be covered under one person’s health care policy. State law could force employers to cover gay partners — no matter how ill. Partners could cancel the form and the benefits sharing arrangment at any time.

Dr. Cameron said “the Mitchell bill is really ‘marriage-lite’ for gays. Focus on the Family’s support for this bill is madness.”

“Currently there is one voluntary relationship that immediately confers these benefits and more — that relationship is marriage between a man and a woman. Society gets tremendous value out of marriage, because married individuals are more economically productive, provide the best place to raise children, and are the least criminal. Homosexuals, on the other hand, are less economically productive, have few children, do not raise them well, are more criminal, and tend to spread disease. Society should not reward homosexual relationships with marriage-like benefits,” said Cameron.

According to Dr. Cameron, conferral of any part of marriage benefits to homosexuals is without precedent in the history of the Christian Church. “Moses and St. Paul put homosexuality among the worst of sins. As soon as the Church gained political power in the Roman Empire it outlawed homosexuality. Now Focus on the Family — an avowedly Christian organization — is telling society it is OK to give gays benefits similar to marriage, as long as it is not called ‘marriage.’”

Drs. Dobson and Cameron were both prominent in getting Amendment 2 passed in Colorado in 1992, and they have been active in the fight against gay rights since then. Just this year, the national gay magazine The Advocate listed Dobson #1 and Cameron #2 on its gay “enemies list” (1/31/06).

However, during the confirmation fight over Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, Dobson told his radio audience that he was in favor of certain ‘civil’ rights for gays. “Is the ‘marriage-lite’ bill an attempt by Dobson and Focus on the Family to compromise with homosexuals over the issue of gay marriage?” asked Cameron.

“When the Denver Post, one of the most anti-family, anti-traditional newspapers on the planet, says it is ‘pleasantly surprised’ by Dobson’s support for ‘expanded legal benefits for same-sex couples,’ you know that a betrayal has occurred.”

Family Research Institute is a non-profit scientific and educational think-tank that has been dedicated to defending the family through scientific research since 1982. Chairman Dr. Paul Cameron has written numerous books and scientific articles on homosexuality, and is currently a reviewer on homosexual issues for the British Medical Journal. He is also among the top ten most published scientists in the world on this topic according to PubMed, the online compilation of research by the National Library of Medicine.