Does the gender of parents really matter?

Psychology Today
February 1, 2010
The assumption that children need both a mother and a father has been used by proponents of Proposition 8 to argue against the freedom to marry. To what extent does this assumption match the findings from scientific studies? In a new study, researchers found no evidence of gender-based parenting abilities, noting that very little about the gender of the parent has significance for children's psychological adjustment and social success. [Link]

Prop 8 Trial, Day Nine

Pam's House Blend
January 25, 2010
NCLR's Shannon Minter discusses the ninth day of the Proposition 8 trial: "This has been an unbelievable week, with testimony that ranged from highly technical and informative to deeply personal, emotional, and moving. The plaintiffs put on an impressive array of witnesses whose testimony, taken as a whole, overwhelmingly supports their case and underscores the profound harm Prop 8 has caused to LGBT people." [Link]

Prop 8 Trial Witness: Being Gay Not a Choice

The Associated Press
January 25, 2010
University of California, Davis researcher Gregory Herek was called as the final expert witness for the plaintiffs in the Proposition 8 trial Friday and testified that sexual orientation cannot be changed. The point is central to the plaintiffs' effort to show that gays deserve the same judicial protection as racial and ethnic minorities. [Link]

Columbia Professor Says Prop 8 Adds to Gay Health Woes

The Associated Press
January 15, 2010
Ilan Meyer, a Columbia University professor of social sciences, testified on Thursday that Proposition 8 sent a message of "you are not welcome here" to gay and lesbian people and that it contributed to social stigma that makes gay people more susceptible to substance abuse, depression, and suicide. [Link]

Shannon Minter: Prop 8 Trial, Day Three

Pam's House Blend
January 13, 2010
The third day of the federal Proposition 8 trial resumed with cross-examination of Yale Professor George Chauncey, who was asked about the progress lesbian and gay people have made politically and in popular culture. [Link]

Prop 8 Trial: Psychologist Testifies on 'Remarkable Similarities' of Gay and Straight Couples

Los Angeles Times
January 14, 2010
Letitia Peplau, a psychology professor testifying Wednesday in the Proposition 8 trial, said that studies have found that the quality of gay and lesbian relationships is "the same" as those of heterosexual partners. [Link]

Professional Associations Back Marriage Equality

OnTop Magazine
August 10, 2009
Both the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Bar Association (ABA) have adopted resolutions backing GLBT rights, including the freedom to marry for gay and lesbian couples. (Link)

Genetic Marker Tied to Gay-Rights Support

The Wall Street Journal
May 5, 2009
Quinnipiac University's Peter A. Brown writes that recent polling indicates that, "The best indicators of someone's opinion on [marriage equality] may be if they have openly gay friends or relatives and whether they think homosexuality is a choice or a genetic trait over which people have no control." [Link]

Civil Marriage Is a Healthy Choice

Washington Post
March 15, 2009
Peter Beilenson, the health officer of Howard County, writes, "This month, the Maryland General Assembly again will hear arguments in favor of granting same-sex couples the ability to legally marry...what about the strong body of evidence that married couples fare much better, both physically and psychologically, than unmarried, cohabitating couples? This evidence alone illustrates that denying same-sex couples access to civil marriage is, quite simply, relegating them to inferior health status." (Link)

Anti-Gay Marriage Amendments Spark Psychological Distress Among GLBT Adults and Their Families

Newswire
November 18, 2008
Amendments that restrict civil marriage from same-sex couples – such as Proposition 8 that recently passed in California – have led to higher levels of stress and anxiety among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults, as well as among their families of origin, according to several new studies to be published by the American Psychological Association. [Link]
Read more studies.

Gay Pair-Bonding, Marriage is Natural

The Huffington Post
July 11, 2008
"Much of the anti-gay-marriage argument rests on two commonly held assumptions: Life-long exclusive mate-bonding for purposes of rearing joint offspring is natural, and homosexuality is unnatural. Both assumptions have little basis in fact." [Link]

An Anthropologist Critiques Focus on the Family’s 'Anthropological' Report on Marriage

Box Turtle Bulletin
March 25, 2008
A guest post by Patrick M. Chapman, biological anthropologist and author of the forthcoming book, “Thou Shalt Not Love”: What Evangelicals Really Say to Gays provides a critical review of a recent Focus on the Family report and refutes the argument that an anthropological understanding of marriage undermines the case for marriage equality. [Link]

Psychoanalysts Support Legal Recognition of Marriage for Same-Sex Couples

Earth Times
March 12, 2008
The American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA) has issued a position statement supporting the legal recognition of civil marriage for same-sex couples while opposing discrimination against same-sex couples. In recognition that gay and lesbian couples are raising children and possess the same potential and desire for life-long relationships as their heterosexual counterparts, the APsaA seeks to assist in ending the government-sanctioned discrimination against homosexual couples that denies them over 1,000 federal rights and benefits. [Link]
[Read position statement]

Gay couples as committed as non-gay couples

Reuters
January 22, 2008
In two new studies that compared same-sex and heterosexual couples using different factors and methods to assess their happiness, scientists found few differences. [Link]

BLOG: Psychologist takes on science-free anti-gay article

Pam's House Blend
October 18, 2007
Yesterday I posted an unbelievable press release by a San Diego-based licensed clinical psychologist named Trayce Hansen, who attempted to portray marriage equality as somehow dangerous to children. word got to Dr. Thomas Marra, also a practicing clinical psychologist and author, who decided he couldn't let Hansen's diatribe sit out there unchallenged. [Link]

The kids are all right

Hour.ca
June 7, 2007
A study commissioned by the former federal Liberal government was finally released to the public in May after its author had to resort to Canada's Access to Information Act to get the Tories to release it. The report compares the results of almost 50 North American, European and British studies about families headed by gay and lesbian parents from North America, with the results of another 25 studies of single-parent families. The international studies span the past 30 years. [Link]

I Do, But I Can't

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
March 1, 2006
Denying gay people the freedom to marry causes harms, including toll on psychological well-being, according to a policy paper from the National Sexuality Resource Center at San Francisco State University. [Link]

Read the Executive Summary here.