One of the arguments against gay marriage — and by extension, adoption of children by gay parents — is that it supposedly screws up the kids.  That’s what the "pro-family" tightwads say, although they have no research to back up that claim.

On the other hand, there is one good case study about the effect of gay parents on kids, which actually does make their point.  The subject?  Karl Rove.

According to the book, the architect of the Bush administration’s anti-gay policies was raised by a homosexual father who abandoned his family to lead an openly gay life in Palm Springs. A decade later, Rove’s mother, Reba, committed suicide, a tragedy the authors attribute to her husband’s departure.

Rove has always been circumspect about his childhood. He told one reporter that he had not heard from his father since his youth. But the book claims Rove maintained a close relationship with Louis Rove until his death two years ago. Friends say he visited his father in Palm Springs at least twice a year, and frequently dined with him and his gay pals.

"He lived life exactly the way he wanted to live it," Rove said of Louis, who died just as his son was launching the Bush campaign’s attack on same-sex marriage. Of course, his admiration for his father did not stop him from using the "gay issue" for his own political advantage.