Psychologists Group Backs Gay Marriage

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2004-07-29 10:31am

From Yahoo:

HONOLULU - The nation's largest association of psychologists is backing same-sex marriage. The American Psychological Association's Council of Representatives made its support official Wednesday, the first day of the group's annual convention in Waikiki. The council also expressed opposition to discrimination against lesbian and gay parents.

It also found same-sex and heterosexual couples remarkably similar, and parenting effectiveness and children's psychological well-being unrelated to parental sexual orientation.

The positions, drawn up by the APA Working Group on Same-Sex Families and Relationships, are meant to guide psychologists in the public debate over civil marriage for same-sex couples.

"In the context of the huge social and political debate that is currently going on, APA and psychologists had to grapple with the issue of what psychology believes is in the public interest in this controversy," said Armand R. Cerbone, a Chicago psychologist who chaired the working group.

The seven-member working group based its recommendations on research into same-sex relationships and families.

The Washington-base APA has more than 150,000 members, including researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2004-07-29 10:33am

It's nice to hear, but no one's ever going to win an argument on gay marriage by appealing to their authority.

Iceberg · Post by **Iceberg** » 2004-07-29 10:37am

I predict that the religious right will use this as ammunition in their continuing assault on the psychiatric profession.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2004-07-29 10:39am

The profession has been pitted against the church for a long time now already.

Xenophobe3691 · Post by **Xenophobe3691** » 2004-07-29 11:41am

Well, good for them. Now when people say that Gay Marriage will cause mental harm to kids and other families, I can say that the largest group of people who have to deal with mental harm and broken up families say they're wrong.

Mayabird · Post by **Mayabird** » 2004-07-29 12:08pm

The Religious Wrong is still going to use the decades-old now rescinded comments from the APA that homosexuality is a disease while still bashing them for saying otherwise, and no one they appeal to with even be bothered with the doublethink.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2004-07-29 12:35pm

Could this be because gay marriage is....harmless?

No, no, clearly they've been infiltrated by the homosexual lobby!

Post by **Alyrium Denryle** » 2004-07-29 12:59pm

Cleary they are just a bunch of Freudian quacks... oh wait... Much of Freudian psych is being confirmed by brain studies so the freudians dont seem that ducky anymore...

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2004-07-29 07:53pm

Darth Wong wrote:It's nice to hear, but no one's ever going to win an argument on gay marriage by appealing to their authority.

That depends entirely on the standards that argument is held to, and public debates don't often meet with very rigorous standards.