The Kids are Just Fine - Charlotte Patterson and UVA's Ground Breaking Pro-LGBT Parenting Research

Given the near deep depression I was feeling after seeing LGBT Americans thrown under the bus and run over repeatedly on Friday by Barack Obama - who hence forth I will simply refer to as "Liar-in-Chief much as I called George W. Bush "the Chimperator" - it was a good thing that I attended Equality Virginia's first ever legal seminars at which I was also a presenter. Among the other presenters were Professor Charlotte J. Patterson from the University of Virginia (pictured at right) and Nathalie Gilfoyle, General Counsel for the American Psychological Association. Dr. Patterson has been a leader in research on how children in homes headed by LGBT couples develop and thrive compared to children raised in heterosexual couple headed homes. The good news is that LGBT parented children do as well - in a few areas even better - than their counterparts in the straight couple headed homes worshipped by the Christianist liars who whine that children will be harmed by gay marriage. Ms. Gilfoyle has been actively involved in the amicus briefs the APA has filed in a number of high profile cases, including Perry v. Schwarzenegger. The goal of these women is to put forth REAL scientific and mental health knowledge and facts to counter the fabricated crap - there's really no other name for it - that the Christianists try to put in as evidence in these cases. The Chicago Tribune has a piece that looks at some of the work of Dr. Patterson which demolishes the Christianists disingenuous lying:
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The consensus from a flurry of recent studies has been that children raised by same-sex couples are no worse off than kids raised by straight parents. In the August issue of the journal Applied Developmental Science, University of Virginia and George Washington researchers who studied preschoolers adopted at birth by lesbian, gay male and heterosexual couples concluded that the sexual orientation of the parents has nothing to do with the psychological health of the child. It's the quality of the parenting that counts.
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Other studies have found that children raised by gay or lesbian parents show more empathy for social diversity and are more likely to defy gender stereotypes in their play and job aspirations.
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Where kids suffer, then, is not being raised by gay parents, but in grappling with teasing, gay slurs dropped in casual conversation and the social messages that their families are less valid than others.
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"The reason that kids of LGBTQ parents need support isn't because they have gay parents, it's because they have gay parents in a homophobic society," said Fakhrid-Deen, who from 2001-2008 ran the Chicago chapter of COLAGE, Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere, a national organization that connects the kids of gay parents so they can share their experiences.
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[I]t's still a pervasive problem, especially in towns and neighborhoods that are less gay-friendly.
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When Lakeesha Harris and Janean Watkins took their six children to church for a special Black History Month program earlier this year, the pastor denounced their family for being gay in the middle of his sermon, and they were run out of the church under hissing from the congregation. "It's really bad to feel like a whole room of people, like 100 people, are all against you," said their 11-year-old son Malcom Murray, who threw up on his way out because he was so upset.
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The real evil is not LGBT parents - it's religion which seems to generate more hate and bigotry than anything else. As Gene Robinson stated, to the extent there are "good Christians," they need to get off their asses and speak out and counter the nonstop hate from the Christianists. Silence equals death for many LGBT youth (and some adults too).

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One point that was stressed by both women and Greg Nevins of Lambda Legal is that when potentially confronted with bogus "experts" offered by Christianists in lawsuits, it is imparative to get real experts involved to shoot down the lies that the "pro-family" liars may try to introduce as evidence. Believe it or not, Paul Cameron's "research" which was discredited 25 years ago is still being foisted on courts by Liberty Counsel and similar "Christian law firms."