Are same-sex marriages harmful to children?

by **Melissa, manager** Mon Mar 03, 2014 9:30 pm

In light of the controversial subject of same-sex marriage, a new study suggests that children of same-sex unions are more likely to have problems. However, the professor in charge of the study, Mark Regnerus, admits that his study did not include "include children raised by same-sex couples in a stable relationship."

It doesn't take a social scientist to know that children raised in unstable households are more likely to develop social problems later in life compared to those who were raised in stable families. In spite of Regnerus' flawed study, the idea that children brought up in same-sex housholds may be harmed could be used in later court cases as evidence why same-sex marriage should be banned.

Article:

Regnerus was the leader of a study that screened thousands of people, ages 18 to 39, and found roughly 250 who said they grew up in a house where a mom or dad eventually had a same-sex relationship.

He found they were more likely to have problems — welfare dependence, less education, marijuana use — than young adults from stable families led by heterosexuals. He later acknowledged that his study didn't include children raised by same-sex couples in a stable relationship.

http://start.toshiba.com/news/read/article/ap-clerk_will_follow_judges_orders_on_gay_m-ap

Here is what the APA thinks (same article).

The American Psychological Association has said there's no scientific basis for believing that gays and lesbians are unfit parents based on sexual orientation.

Do you agree with Regnerus that same-sex marriages are harmful or do you agree with the APA that there is "no scientific basis for believing" such a claim?