Dear Friend and Reader,
A primary criticism of marriage equality for same-sex couples is that it is harmful for children to be raised by non-heterosexual parents, and that a child needs to be around the masculine and feminine roles that heterosexual parents provide. This argument was central in the Iowa state supreme court case, and is a particularly potent one because it is so difficult to disprove. How do you prove that a child turns out alright because his/her parents are straight?
Many studies have observed GLBT parents, though none have been wide-ranging or long-term enough to be considered substantial. This week, though, the USA National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS) published results of a 22-year study of lesbian parents and their children, and found lesbians do no harm to their children. In fact, the primary obstacles for children of lesbian parents come from the outside; from homophobia in their communities.
You can click here to read an article from Bay Windows, a GLBT newspaper based in New England. It sums up the main points of the study pretty well.В
In other news, Pope Benedict has declared that protecting the world from homosexuals is as important as protecting our rainforests. I was only shocked about this for a minute, because I thought the headline read “Fighting homophobia as vital as saving rainforests – Pope.” You fooled me again, Benedict!В
Yours & truly,
Rachel Asher
One woman’s meat is another woman’s poison.. or so they (don’t quite) say..
Lesbians good parents? How incredibly shocking…I was raised by wolves…next time I will have to try lesbians…