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The Vermont Psychiatric Association (VPA) has become the first APA district branch to join a lawsuit aimed at invalidating a state law banning same-sex marriages.
The VPA announced on March 19 that it had submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Vermont Supreme Court in the three cases Stan Baker and Peter Harrigan v. State of Vermont and Town of Shelburne, Nina Beck and Stancy Jolles v. State of Vermont and City of South Burlington, and Lois Farnham and Holly Puterbaugh v. State of Vermont and Town of Milton, in which the three appellant same-gender couples are suing for the legal right to marry.
The three couples argue that contrary to the State's contention that barring same-sex marriage furthers its interest in fostering a linkage between procreation and child rearing-the only one of several State arguments the trial court upheld-the State's prohibition in fact "impedes rather than assists" its interest in children's health and welfare.
Among the State's arguments the trial court rejected were that Vermont has a legitimate interest in uniting men and women, in providing gender-appropriate role models for children, in preserving the historic concept that marriage is reserved for heterosexuals, in limiting opportunities for surrogacy contracts and visitation disputes, and in upholding traditional value judgments.
The plaintiffs also contended that since child rearing is the central issue for the State and the courts, allowing civil marriage of same-sex partners, with all its accompanying benefits, enhances the development and stability of the many same-sex families who are raising children just as it does for different-sex parents.
The Vermont psychiatrists joined the Vermont chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and the Vermont Psychological Association in the friend-of-the-court brief that explains some of the mental health-related consequences gay men and lesbians experience when the state denies them the right to have their committed relationships approved by law.
Psychiatrist M. Brooke Barss, M.D., of Burlington, Vt., said that the VPA's involvement in this case "is consistent with the organization's support for equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian Vermonters."
Psychiatrists, she added, "have an obligation to step forward and present the court with thorough and accurate information" about the impact of the marriage ban on the mental well-being of gay men and lesbians, especially those in committed relationships or who are raising children together. It is crucial that the Court not be "misled by myths and misconceptions about gay and lesbian families in evaluating this case," Barss emphasized.
The amicus brief discusses the stance of APA and the other professional organizations on the issue of homosexuality, but focuses largely on the development of children being reared by same-gender parents.
It points out, "Not a single study has found children of gay or lesbian parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect [compared with] children of heterosexual parents." Research has repeatedly indicated, the brief continues, "that home environments provided by gay and lesbian parents are as likely as those provided by heterosexual parents to support and enable children's psychosocial growth."
Estimates of the number of children in the U.S. being raised by gay or lesbian parents range from 6 million to 14 million.
The three plaintiff couples cite some of the many research studies confirming that gay parents-most of the research has been done on lesbian parents-develop parenting skills and function just as well as their heterosexual counterparts. While opponents of same-gender marriage insist on ascribing paramount importance to the couple's sexual orientation, the brief describes studies showing that "while homosexuality may be a significant aspect of a lesbian mother's identity, her obligations to her children are likely to overshadow its expression and to mitigate the degree to which she sees her homosexuality as distinguishing her from other single mothers."
Moreover, research has not turned up any evidence that lesbian mothers' attitudes about children's ideal sex roles differ from those of their nongay counterparts.
Several studies the plaintiffs cited regarding gay fathers showed similar parallels. A few found, in fact, "that gay fathers tend to be more strict and consistently emphasize the importance of setting and enforcing limits on children's behaviors significantly more as a group than nongay fathers."
Perhaps most important, the plaintiffs suggest, is that research has yet to uncover any developmental or adjustment differences between children raised by gay parents and those reared by straight parents.
"All children of gay and lesbian parents," the brief points out, "as well as gay and lesbian children and adults, would benefit from the removal of the last, but perhaps most significant, vestige of state-sanctioned discrimination against gay and lesbian Vermonters and their families."
The ability to affirm legally and publicly a commitment to a partner, just as heterosexual couples can, is crucial to improving the mental well-being of gay men and lesbians regardless of whether they are in a long-term relationship, said Daniel Hicks, M.D., president of the Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists.
It is important that psychiatrists understand the significance of the same-sex marriage issue if they are to be as effective as possible during psychotherapy with their gay and lesbian patients, according to Lowell Tong, M.D., chair of the APA Committee on Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Issues.
The mental health benefits of having the option to marry are obvious and multiple, Tong told Psychiatric News. As is the case with different-sex couples, "there is the validation of a worthy relationship by family, friends, community, and society and all that goes with it, such as stability and the sense of having made a strong and visible commitment to another person."
For some gays and lesbians, Tong noted, an acknowledgment from society that it will accept same-gender marriage would serve as encouragement to come further out of the closet. "Also, there is the positive role modeling for others, both gay and straight, that would follow if same-sex marriage was legalized, and gays and lesbians could be open about their relationships," he said.
"Just imagine what the mental health consequences would be if a heterosexual couple and all of their closest friends were prohibited from marrying because a majority of society considered such marriages to be 'bad' for some prejudiced reason-height, weight, age, religion, race, or complexion, for example. Think about that notion for a few minutes and the list of mental health consequences becomes quite obvious, doesn't it?" -K.H.