Gay Parenting

"it is vain to blind oneself to the fact that the problem of male homosexuality is in essence the problem of the corruption of youth by itself and by its elders. It is the problem of the creation by means of such corruption of new addicts ready to corrupt a still further generation of young men and boys in the future" (Rees & Usill, 1956, p. 29)

"often have assumed that their children are likely to be emotionally harmed, subject to molestation, impaired in gender role development, or themselves homosexual. None of these assumptions is supported by extant research and theory" (Falk, 1989, p. 941)

"there is no evidence either that homosexual parents are more likely to seduce or allow their children to be seduced than their heterosexual counterparts or that lesbian mothers or their acquaintances molest children more often than heterosexual individuals. However, research on the point is scant" (ibid. p. 944)

you have comments on the adoption/artificial/sex gay parents raising the next gen of americans?

"Researchers have been unable to establish empirically that detriment results to children from being raised by lesbian mothers" (ibid. p. 946)

"[t]here is no evidence of any kind that demonstrates that living with a homosexual parent has any significant negative effects on children. In fact, it appears that gay parents are as effective and may be even more so in some ways than nongay parents" (Bigner & Bozett, 1989)

Bozett (1989) contended that "[t]here is no evidence whatsoever that children reared in households in which one or both adults is homosexual are in any way at harm, either physically or psychologically."

The American Psychological Association accepts the thrust of these conclusions so sufficiently, it provided expert testimony to that effect in the joint adoption of a boy through artificial insemination by male homosexual partners in the District of Columbia in 1992 (Washington Blade, 6/19/92).

More importantly, the American Psychological Association joined the National Association of Social Workers in an amici curiae brief in Bottoms v. Bottoms, November 15, 1993, in which the APA asserted that: "the belief that a child raised in a household with a lesbian or gay parent is more apt to become lesbian or gay is without any basis in fact" (p. 23); "the research suggests that lesbian mothers have parenting skills that are equivalent to or better than those of heterosexual parents" (p. 12); and "there is no social science evidence that even suggests that lesbian or gay parents are more likely to sexually abuse their children, or to allow them to be molested by others" (p. 13).

I've heard people oppose gay marriage on the basis that two parents, including a father figure and mother are needed to raise psychologically healthy kids. Is is not clear how this argument holds up to the empirical evidence.

Get ready, here comes the new forensic psychologist me. One of my new classes for the Spring semester.

i'm out of time, more later