Rev. Paul Erickson writes to the editor of the Pioneer Press that, when it comes to raising kids, "stability is not enough":

"...Stable relationships are, of course, vitally important for the well-being of children and the good of society, but simple stability is not enough. Equally important is the loving presence of both mom and dad, even as it must be acknowledged, with great pain, that in certain circumstances such an ideal is impossible. But tragic exceptions should not provoke us to ignore the basic fact that children crave and long for the presence of both a mother and a father. The marriage amendment implicitly acknowledges this fact, a claim of reason and common sense."