Should Gays Be Parents? The Evidence Says Overwhelmingly, Yes

There's been a lot of shouting on both sides.  Parents of the same sex should not be allowed to adopt children.  Parents of the same sex should be able to adopt children.

Personally, I'm for the latter.  But what about the kids?  How are they faring?

A new study says, just fine. 

According to the 2010 Census – the first to provide same-sex couples that live together the option to report themselves as married partners – 48 percent of LGBT women and 20 percent of gay men under 50 are raising a child under age 18, newswise.com reports.

"In my research, I found that opponents of these marriages, like those who seek to prevent the legal recognition of same-sex marriage today, relied on the argument that the marriages were detrimental to children’s well-being," the Web site quotes Carlos A. Ball, a professor at the Rutgers School of Law-Newark, and author of Same-Sex Marriage and Children: A Tale of History, Social Science, and Law.

The book addresses the ways in which the child welfare arguments have been used to oppose same-sex marriage. 

 Interviewed by Rutgers Today, Ball said, "The effort to prohibit same-sex couples from marrying is just the latest example of a recurring phenomenon in American history, as represented by earlier restrictions on marriage by individuals of different races and by people who are mentally disabled. In my research, I found that opponents of these marriages, like those who seek to prevent the legal recognition of same-sex marriage today, relied on the argument that the marriages were detrimental to children’s well-being."

Those who oppose gay marriage say children do best when raised by a mother and a father who are biologically related to them, and that households deviating from this type of family structure are somehow less than optimal. "However, studies of families headed by same-sex parents conclude convincingly that these children are doing well: There is little statistical difference in terms of school performance, cognitive development, social functioning and emotional health between the children of gay and lesbian parents and heterosexual parents," Ball rebuts the argument.

But are gay fathers good fathers?  Says Ball, "The studies of gay father households are entirely consistent with those of lesbian mothers: Gay fathers are doing a good job raising their children. Gay fathers, however, do face some challenges, including the perception that male couples are unable to provide children with the same kind of nurturing and caring available to children raised by mothers. But there is simply no support for this view in the social science literature."

 He concludes, "Marriage equality benefits the children of same-sex couples by providing them and their parents with the legal structure and rights that accompany marriage. . .Marriage equality is crucial in protecting children from the stigma caused by the government when it relegates their families to second-class status. Children raised by parents who do not have the option of marrying inevitably perceive their families as less valid and legitimate than those of children whose parents are permitted by law to marry."

How can that ever be a good thing?






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