A new study is out that studies the brain activity of gay fathers (48 gay fathers raising children). Basically, the study shows that their emotional circuits were as active as those of heterosexual mothers and their interpretive circuits were as active as heterosexual fathers.
From the Study:
The current study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was conducted in Israel, and builds on work by neuropsychologist Ruth Feldman of Bar-Ilan University and others.
The 48 gay fathers raising children with their husbands seemed to be both mom and dad, brain-wise. Their emotional circuits were as active as those of mothers and the interpretive circuits showed the same extra activity as that of heterosexual fathers'.
One clue: in gay fathers, but not heterosexual ones, the brain also had extra communication lines between emotional and cognitive structures. The more time a man spent as primary caregiver, the greater the connectivity. It was as if playing both parental roles caused the brain to integrate the structures required for each.
via
Yahoo
I'm not sure if this study will impact the marriage equality debate, however it seems to support the notion that gay parents can be very good parents.