American Sociology Association Files Brief Against Marriage Bans In Nevada and Hawaii

As noted many, many times on this blog, EVERY legitimate medical and mental health association in America opposes "ex-gay" therapy and admits that one's sexual orientation is not something that can be "cured" or "fixed."  The natural result of this understanding is that same sex couples ought to have the same civil legal marriage rights as heterosexual couples.  Bans on gay marriage only seek to harm same sex couples and enshrine Christofascist religious belief into the civil laws.  With numerous lawsuits pending that challenge state laws and constitutional amendments aimed at keeping gays inferior, we can expect to see legitimate medical and mental health associations filing briefs against such bans.  The American Sociological Association has filed such briefs in cases pending in Nevada and Hawaii.  Here are highlights from the organization's press release:

The American Sociological Association (ASA) filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today supporting efforts to overturn gay marriage bans in Nevada and Hawaii and highlighting the overwhelming body of social science research that confirms “children fare just as well” when same-sex or heterosexual parents raise them. The Ninth Circuit is scheduled to hear lawsuits challenging the bans in the coming months.

“The supporters of gay marriage bans in these cases offer no facts to support the contention that Nevada and Hawaii possess an important or rational basis for their respective state laws against marriage for same-sex couples,” said ASA Executive Officer Sally T. Hillsman. The amicus brief is part of the ASA’s ongoing effort to ensure that U.S. courts considering lawsuits to legalize gay marriage understand that social science research shows parents’ sexual orientation has no bearing on their children’s well-being.

Obviously, these facts are 100% opposed to the arguments of the Christofascists who use faux experts and manipulated "research" to support their predetermined conclusions.  An example of this is the much slammed "study" done by Mark Regnerus which was funded by far right organizations for use against arguments for same sex marriage.  The ASA singled out the Regnerus "study" for particular condemnation:

“The Regnerus papers and other sources gay marriage opponents often rely on provide no basis for their arguments because this research does not directly examine the well-being of children raised by same-sex parents,” Hillsman said. “These analyses therefore do not undermine the consensus from the social science research and do not establish a legitimate basis for gay marriage bans in Nevada, Hawaii, or anywhere else.”

 When all else is stripped away, the only argument against gay marriage comes down to conservative religious beliefs.  Beliefs that should not be included in the civil laws whatsoever.