DID YOU KNOW THIS ABOUT MARRIAGE AND THE LAW?

The law used to make marriage the dividing line between first class children (born to married parents) and second class -- or worse -- children (born to unmarried parents). The Los Angeles Times published my op-ed about the Supreme Court ruling 40 years ago that marked the beginning of the end of this distinction. When I argue today that marriage shouldn't be the dividing line between relationships the law counts and those it doesn't, I am advocating a continuation of a set of changes that altered the meaning of marriage forever, including ending wives subjugation to their husbands and allowing no-fault divorce. This change -- giving constitutional rights to children born outside marriage and their parents -- is the least recognized change that took place in the era of 1968 and the early 1970s....but it might be the most important!