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from Political News
American Psychological Association Loses Bid To Redefine Marriage In New York
December 9, 2005 -
The American Psychological Association (APA) lost its attempt to have a New York
state court redefine marriage to include same-sex partnerships.
In a decision handed down by the New York Appellate Division, First Department
of the New York Supreme Court, a panel of judges ruled in Hernandez v. Robles.
This case involved the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York state.
A lower court had sided with same-sex marriage advocacy in the APA's friend of
the court brief as well as briefs filed by gay rights organizations to have
same-sex marriage mandated under the state's Domestic Relations Law. The case
was appealed to the appellate court and was overturned.
Writing for the majority, Judge Milton L. Williams observed that lower court
Judge Ling-Cohan had not only wrongly decided that state law on marriage was
unconstitutional but "proceeded to rewrite it [the state law] and purportedly
create a new constitutional right, an act that exceeded the court's
constitutional mandate and usurped that of the legislature."
The APA's amicus brief filed in the lower court, includes a lengthy section on
"The Children of Lesbians and Gay Men," and includes numerous statements that
critics claim are factually inaccurate and that ignore the entire body of
research that contradicts its case. The APA's gay division includes a
listing of nearly two dozen friend of the court briefs filed on behalf of
same-sex marriage, discrimination, sodomy, and gays in the military.
The APA brief repeatedly cites "(How) Does the Sexual Orientation of Parents
Matter?" by J. Stacey & T.J. Biblarz (66 Am. Soc. Rev. 159, 162 & n. 2 (2001),
as well as the research from C. J. Patterson. Professor Patterson is a lesbian
activist and professor at the University of Virginia whose scientific neutrality
has been called into question by NARTH Scientific Advisory Committee members
Drs. A. Dean Byrd and Gerald Schoenewolf. The problems with the Stacey and
Biblarz report are dealt with in Dr. Byrd's paper, Gender Complementarity and
Child-rearing: Where Tradition and Science Agree.
Professor Patterson's questionable objectivity is described in the following
NARTH documents: When Activism Masquerades as Science: Potential Consequences of
Recent APA Resolutions; When Propaganda Is Disguised As Research: The Case of
Charlotte J. Patterson.
Additional Reading: Review Of Research On Homosexual Parenting, Adoption, And Foster Parenting.
Updated: 9 April 2008
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