Exgay Expert Fails to Defend Arkansas Ban on Gay Foster Parents
From 365gay.com:
Finding that children are not harmed by living with gay or lesbian parents, an Arkansas court Wednesday struck down a state regulation that banned gay people and anyone living in a household with a gay adult from being foster parents in the state.
Circuit Court Judge Timothy Fox "found that being raised by gay parents doesn’t increase the risk of psychological, behavioral, or academic problems for children and that children of lesbian and gay parents are just as well adjusted as children of straight parents," according to 365gay.com.
The state’s expert witness in the case was George A. Rekers, an exgay therapy advocate and FRC co-founder. Rekers’ past work, along with that of other reparative therapists, is thoughtfully analyzed from a clinical perspective by Jeramy Townsley.
The ACLU response, and the full text of the court decision, are available from the ACLU website.
(Hat tip: James B.)
If you want to read a real put-down to the ex-gay advocate, read the section of the ruling where the judge discusses the credibility of the witnesses. He takes a sharp verbal knife to Dr. Rekers dedication to ideology over fact.
I actually feel sorry for Dr. Rekers on this one, he does not look good to either his supporters or detractors after this judge got through with him.
Wow, and I though liberal activist judges were trappped in a few states!!!
Actually it’s Arkansas. I think I said Arkansas, I hope I didn’t put the wrong state.
Arkansas is appealing the ruling of course. 365gay’s latest article says that in Arkansas gays can adopt but not be foster parents. If that’s true this is a very strange law.
That was silly of me — thanks.
I think an argument might be made that, all things being equal, there may be some extra benefits for a child to be raised in a mixed sex couple household, but that is not the same thing as saying that gays harm children.
That didn’t take long at all. Arkansas’ legislature will work to either give the board power to revive the law, or themselves make a new law which will ban gay adoption (which is currently legal) AND gay foster care.
So much for happy news in vile America.
http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/12/123104arkLeg.htm
MikeA, I’m not sure I agree with you, but maybe I’m missing your point. I would say that having two parents of any sex combination would provide particular benefits (features? sounds like I’m selling a car) that another combination might not. And from what I can tell from the same-sex parenting couples I know, those benefits are more likely to be determined by who those people are more than what sex they happen to be.
Troy, I agree with that children are influenced as much or more by the balance of characteristics in their parents than by gender.
It’s ironic that those who demand children be raised by “one man and one woman,” to the exclusion of any other consideration, suffer from exceptionally high rates of divorce and single parenthood.