Up to 2 Million Children with Gay Parents Suffer from Stigma and Biased Laws

A new report on children raised by gay parents is out today from the Family Equality Council, Center for American Progress, the Movement Advancement Project, the National Association of Social Workers and the Child Welfare League of America, the AP reports:

Increasingly, the welfare of these children will be a core part of gay-rights strategies, as evidenced by a comprehensive report being released Tuesday. Compiled by an alliance of advocacy and child-welfare groups, it summarizes how laws and social stigma create distinctive challenges for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender families.

While the U.S. Census does not count children of gay parents, the report estimates them at 2 million:

Among the barriers and inequities they face, as detailed in the report:

—Many government safety net programs use definitions of family tied to marital status which may exclude same-sex partners.

—Because of lack of legal recognition for their unions, gay and lesbian parents can face heavier tax burdens, higher costs for health insurance, and diminished financial protections in the event of death or disability.

—When same-sex parents separate, one parent may lose custody or visitation rights, even in cases where he or she had been a child's primary caregiver.

Overshadowing all these problems is pervasive social stigma, according to the report.