Star witnesses for both sides in the recent Proposition 8 trial agreed on one thing: Children of same-sex parents benefit from having two parents who are happily married to each other. On Feb. 3, their testimony was cited in two friend-of-the-court briefs submitted by 17 organizations dedicated to the advancement of the social sciences and the promotion of mental health.
The testimony at trial was most stunning from David Blankenhorn, an expert witness for the defenders of Proposition 8.
"I believe that adopting same-sex marriage would be likely to improve the well-being of gay and lesbian households and their children," he said, during his testimony as the last person to take the stand.
Dr. Michael Lamb, head of the Department of Social and Developmental Psychology at the University of Cambridge and an expert for the legal team challenging the California same-sex marriage ban, said that, "for a significant number" of children being raised by same-sex parents, "their adjustment would be promoted were their parents able to get married."
Both men’s testimony was later cited in an amicus brief submitted by the California Division of the American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy and 11 other mental-health professional organizations, representing tens of thousands of therapists. It was also cited in a separate brief from the American Anthropological Association, the American Psychoanalytic Association, the National Association of Social Workers (and its California chapter), and the American Academy of Pediatrics, California. The organizations concur with the witnesses that the stigma of marriage inequality has negative effects on the children of same-sex couples.
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