This will be quick, as I'm short on time, but this is an
important paper from the American Academy of Pediatrics that should help to refute the ridiculous and unsupported claims of the Christofascists who argue against gay marriage, gay adoption, etc.
This was brought to my attention by a commenter in
a post on Americablog about some Christofascist who is all up in arms about a West Point cadet who won an award from the English department for his thesis that concluded the military's policies on homosexuals was - shock - wrong.
I only quickly read through it, but the report basically reviews the literature on children raised by gay couples, often studies that compared these children's attitudes, psychosocial measures, etc. to those of children raised by heterosexual parents, either married or divorced.
The concluding paragraph will no doubt force bolts of self-righteous dung to spew from the ears of Dobson, Perkins, et al.
There is ample evidence to show that children raised by same-gender parents fare as well as those raised by heterosexual parents. More than 25 years of research have documented that there is no relationship between parents' sexual orientation and any measure of a child's emotional, psychosocial, and behavioral adjustment. These data have demonstrated no risk to children as a result of growing up in a family with 1 or more gay parents. Conscientious and nurturing adults, whether they are men or women, heterosexual or homosexual, can be excellent parents. The rights, benefits, and protections of civil marriage can further strengthen these families.
The AAP deserves all sorts of credit for this paper. In it, they make a strong argument in favor of legalized civil marriage for gay people in this country.
There is no doubt that the AAP will be excoriated by the religious right for this report. I only hope its leaders have the fortitude to stick up for their work that is based on SCIENCE, not ideology.