APA Taken to Task for Endorsement of Same-Sex 'Marriage,' Same-Sex Adoption
by Jody Brown
July 30, 2004
(AgapePress) - A professional organization of researchers, educators, and clinicians has been accused of ignoring social science research, putting politics ahead of children -- and lacking common sense. This week's endorsement of same-sex "marriage" and homosexual adoption by the world's largest association of psychologists is, in the words of one critic, another attempt to "silence the truth about homosexuality."
On Wednesday, the American Psychological Association announced its support for legalization of homosexual marriage, saying a ban on same-sex unions is "discriminatory and unfairly denies such couples...the legal, financial, and social advantages" of civil marriage. The APA also attached the "discriminatory" label to homosexual adoption and foster care.
According to the seven-member APA working group that developed the resolutions, homosexual and bisexual individuals are adversely affected -- psychologically, physically, socially, and economically -- by "discrimination and prejudice based on sexual orientation." The APA Working Group on Same-Sex Families and Relationships also found that same-sex couples are "remarkably similar" to heterosexual couples, and that the psychological well-being of children is "unrelated to parental and sexual orientation."
In addition, the working group strongly recommended that the American Psychological Association come alongside states in efforts to legalize civil marriage for homosexual couples and to recognize the parental rights of homosexual men and women.
The chair of the APA working group, Chicago clinical psychologist Dr. Armand Cerbone, said those involved in the organization's resolutions on homosexual marriage and adoption "had to grapple with the issue of what psychology believes is in the public interest in this controversy." But the APA press release fails to mention Cerbone's notoriety and activism in the homosexual community.
According to the Catholic League, Cerbone and his "partner" have been fundraisers for the Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues. In addition, APA Online reports that in October 2003, Cerbone was one of 11 members of the "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community" who were inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.
Catholic League president William Donahue says those aspects of Cerbone's involvement and lifestyle make the psychologist "not exactly a disinterested party." Donahue also notes the ease with which Cerbone was honored by the Hall of Fame, saying he "slid right in."
As for the potential effect of the APA's announcement, Donahue says the only people who will be fooled are college students -- "but that is damage enough," he says. "The politicization of homosexuality in this country is now all but out of control."
Political, Not Professional
Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel evidently agrees with Donahue. The Christian attorney calls the APA announcement a "blatant example of politics taking priority over objective studies" that he claims demonstrate both society and children are harmed by same-sex marriage and same-sex parenting.
Mat Staver | |
According to Staver, the APA resolutions reached a "shocking" conclusion that there is no evidence that civilization or social order depends on marriage remaining exclusively between one man and one woman. "The APA has obviously ignored the destruction of the family taking place in Scandinavia," he says.And he says the APA is also ignoring studies and statistics showing that few same-sex couples maintain long-term, monogamous relationships; that the average homosexual couple does not suffer economic disadvantages; and that the most vulnerable class of crime victims are not homosexuals -- all contrary to arguments put forth by homosexual activists.
Staver also points out that studies cited by the APA about the effect on children of being raised by same-sex parents are inconclusive. "What they do show, however, is that girls raised in a lesbian home are far more likely to engage in sex earlier and more often than those raised by a mom and a dad," he says. "[And] there are thousands of studies that conclude children do best in every measurable category when raised with a mom and a dad."
Nevertheless, he says, the APA appears willing to put children at risk without any solid evidence to support its political agenda.
"The APA wants to silence the truth about homosexuality -- in particular, studies and reports from [the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality] that demonstrate the falsity of what the APA is putting out to the public about homosexuality," Staver says.
"The [APA] has shed its professional charter to become a political machine."
