In the ongoing, multifaceted efforts to redefine marriage, California lawmakers are seeking to allow gay couples who enter domestic partnerships to more easily share a last name.
Such a change is possible now through the legal system, but AB 102 would make the process similar to what married couples experience – a simple checking of a box.
Ron Prentice, executive director of the California Family Council, said the ultimate goal of such steps is legalizing same-sex marriage.
“In California especially, they’ve gone after small, incremental, bite-size chunks of marriage and anything with Judeo-Christian principles or traditions,” he told Family News in Focus.
The bill has passed the Assembly and is now headed to the Senate. One couple – Mr. Howard and Mr. Cain – would take the last name of "Summerfield" if the bill becomes law.
Glenn Stanton, senior marriage analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said the taking of the husband’s last name is a tradition rooted in Scripture.
“It can certainly be traced to the biblical idea that Jews and Christians adhere to in the 'leave and cleave' idea,” he said.
A common name also helps children understand their heritage.
“This really moves us away from that," Stanton said, "to say that a name is just an adornment in terms of one we like or one we don’t like, rather than a connection with some sort of family heritage, which is really important and really significant.”
