Like WorldNetDaily, CNSNews.com offers a creative, misleading interpretation of the California Supreme Court ruling overturning a ban on same-sex marriage. In a May 16 article headlined “California Court Strips Children of Right to Mother and Father,” Terry Jeffrey writes:
In Thursday’s 4-3 decision legalizing same-sex marriage, the California Supreme Court stripped children of the right to be raised by a mother and a father.
Most of the media coverage of the California Supreme Court’s decision has focused on the court’s declaration that there is a right to same-sex marriage. The ruling invalidated California’s Proposition 22, a state ballot initiative that passed with 61 percent of the vote in 2000, and which banned same-sex marriage in the state.
But the California Supreme Court decision goes beyond simply giving same-sex couples the right to call their unions a “marriage.” It also strips children of the right not to be artificially conceived or adopted by people other than a mother and a father.
Indeed, the court does not recognize that children have any right whatsoever to a mother and a father.
Jeffrey offers no evidence beyond this interpretation of the ruling, such as quoting legal experts, that this is the case. Jeffrey’s CNS bio indicates no evidence of legal expertise; he holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and has studied toward a master’s in Arab studies.
This article is, essentially, Jeffrey’s own personal opinion. Yet it is presented as a “news” article.
UPDATE: The CNS front page now describes Jeffrey’s article as a “News Analysis.” But the article itself is not labeled as such.