University of Texas Dishes Mark Regnerus As He Testifies Against Gays

This blog has looked at the discredited "study" conducted by Mark Regnerus with funding from far right anti-gay organizations which sought to prove that children raised in same sex headed households fared worse than those raised in heterosexual couple headed homes.  The problem was, however, that Regnerus never actually studied children raised in homes headed by stable same sex couples.  Instead, he looked at individuals with a supposed gay parent where the parents had divorced and where often the child had never lived with the gay parent post divorce.  But, in true Christofascist fashion, Regnerus never let these fraudulent aspects deficiencies get in the way of reaching his preordained conclusion.  Now, Regnerus is being used as an "expert" on the shortcomings of gay parenting in a case pending in federal court in Michigan (today he will be cross examined which ought to be fun to watch).  Apparently, the University of Texas where Regnerus is on the faculty finds the entire situation distasteful and has issued a denunciation of Regnerus and stressed that Regnerus does not represent the views of the University and/or the faculty.  Here are details from The New Civil Rights Movement:

Mark Regnerus, the man whose name seems to have become synonymous with bad research, was allowed to deliver testimony in federal court today in a case that will decide the fate of same-sex marriage in Michigan. Many wondered if Judge Bernard Friedman, who barred one “expert” witness from testifying earlier in the day, would allow Regnerus, whose own work has been discredited, to testify. The case, Deboer v. Snyder, involves two nurses, Jayne and April DeBoer-Rowse, who wish to marry and jointly-adopt their three adopted children.

Friedman did, and Regnerus, according to many tweets and reports of journalists in the courtroom, told the judge that there’s just no conclusive evidence that there’s no difference between same-sex and different-sex parents raising children, and that “the most prudent thing to do is wait and evaluate some of these changes over time before making any radical moves around marriage.”

HRC’s Ellen Kahn issued a statement saying that “Mark Regnerus’ testimony today in this trial is, in many ways, a culmination of exactly what the anti-gay funders of his work intended when they conceived the New Family Structures study. Make no mistake about it – Regnerus is not offering valid, scientific data. In fact, his study is a clear outlier among 30 years worth of social science that suggest children thrive equally well in two parent households, regardless of the genders of their parents. He is simply carrying out the harmful rhetoric of organizations that seek to demonize LGBT people and their families.”

Meanwhile, apparently in response to Regnerus begin accepted as a witness and to the testimony he delivered, Regnerus’ own university issued a statement distancing itself from his work.

The University of Texas at Austin and the College of Liberal Arts issued a statement saying “Dr. Regnerus’ opinions are his own. They do not reflect the views of the university. Like all faculty, he has the right to pursue his areas of research and express his point of view. We encourage the community of scholars and society as a whole to evaluate his claims.”

And if that weren’t sufficient, the Chairman of the University of Texas at Austin’s Sociology Department issued a statement today denouncing Regnerus’ work.

Like all faculty, Dr. Regnerus has the right to pursue his areas of research and express his point of view. However, Dr. Regnerus’ opinions are his own. They do not reflect the views of the Sociology Department of The University of Texas at Austin. Nor do they reflect the views of the American Sociological Association, which takes the position that the conclusions he draws from his study of gay parenting are fundamentally flawed on conceptual and methodological grounds and that findings from Dr. Regnerus’ work have been cited inappropriately in efforts to diminish the civil rights and legitimacy of LBGTQ partners and their families. We encourage society as a whole to evaluate his claims.

The Sociology Department at The University of Texas at Austin aspires to achieve academic excellence in research, teaching, and public service at the highest level in our discipline. We strive to do so in a context that is based on the highest ethical standards of our discipline and in a context that actively promotes and supports diversity among our faculty and student populations.

As stated many times on this blog, no one lies more frequently and more insidiously than the "godly Christian" crowd.  I hope Regnerus gets torn to shreds on cross examination.  Candidly, one has to wonder when the University will act to dump Regnerus from the faculty given his fraudulent research and force him to move to a discredited institution such as Liberty University here in Virginia.  He is an embarrassment to the University of Texas at this point.