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from Gay Activism in the Social Sciences
American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA)
Supports Gay Marriage
By Mike Hatfield
March 20, 2008 - The American Psychoanalytic Association went on record March 12 in support of gay marriage.
According to Ethan Grumbach, Ph.D., chair of the APsaA's Committee on Gay and Lesbian Issues, "We want people to think about the broad impact the denial of same-sex marriage has on American families today. Families exist in many different ways and it is important for same-sex couples to have legal and societal recognition of their unions for themselves, their children, and their extended families."
The association justifies its support of gay marriage by citing surveys and a study ostensibly concluding that children reared in gay households are no different than children from heterosexual homes.
One reference cited is the work of lesbian activist Charlotte Patterson, whose research has been called into question. In NARTH President A. Dean Byrd's paper, "When Activism Masquerades As Science: Potential Consequences of Recent APA Resolutions," he describes a court case in Florida where Patterson's research was rejected by the judges. The court noted:
Dr. Patterson's impartiality also came into question when prior to trial, she refused to turn over to her own attorneys copies of documentation utilized by her in studies. This court ordered her to do so (both sides having stipulated to the Order), yet she unilaterally refused despite the continued efforts on the part of her attorneys to have her do so. Both sides stipulated that Dr. Patterson's conduct was a clear violation of this Court's order. Her attorneys requested that sanctions be limited to the exclusion of her personal studies at trial and this Court agreed to do so.
Dr. Patterson testified as to her own lesbian status and the Respondent maintained that her research was possibly tainted by her alleged use of friends as subjects for her research. This potential was given more credence than it should have been by virtue of her unwillingness to provide the Respondent as well as the Petitioner, with the documents ordered to be produced" (1997, JUNE AMER, Petitioner v Floyd P. Johnson, p. 11).
The APsaA also quoted a couple of surveys of attitudes of gay parents about the importance of parenthood. The attitudes were positive toward marriage, but these surveys hardly prove that children in gay households are not harmed by such relationships.
NARTH Board Member George A. Rekers, Ph.D., has written extensively on the impact of gay parenting on children and has testified before state legislatures on the importance of the two-parent home with a mother and father. His paper, "Review Of Research On Homosexual Parenting, Adoption, And Foster Parenting" describes the negative impact that gay parents have on their children.
Additional Reading:
Ethical Issues; Gay Activism in the Social Sciences
Updated: 26 March 2008
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