This last week Iowa became the third state to legally recognize marriage between same-sex couples. This recognition resulted from a unanimous ruling of the Iowa Supreme Court. I have followed a number of court decisions on this topic and one thing particularly impressed me about this one-- the court carefully weighed and correctly reviewed social science research on the impact of recognizing same-sex relationships. As I have written about in previous postings (Why not allow gay marriage?), the research evidence is pretty clear that recognizing same-sex marriages helps gay and lesbian couples and their children and there is no evidence that it harms anyone. But several previous courts have either accidentally or purposely misunderstood this research to be much more mixed or even just ignored the research entirely.
Let's hope the approach taken by the Iowa Supreme Court catches on. Based on an Amicus curiae brief filed by the American Psychological Association, expert testimony by Psychologists Gregory Herek, and their own review of the research, the court said, "The plaintiffs produced evidence to demonstrate sexual orientation and gender have no effect on children raised by same-sex couples, and same-sex couples can raise children as well as opposite-sex couples. They also submitted evidence to show that most scientific research has repudiated the commonly assumed notion that children need opposite-sex parents or biological parents to grow into well-adjusted adults. Many leading organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, and the Child Welfare League of America, weighed the available research and supported the conclusion that gay and lesbian parents are as effective as heterosexual parents in raising children. For example, the official policy of the American Psychological Association declares, There is no scientific evidence that parenting effectiveness is related to parental sexual orientation: Lesbian and gay parents are as likely as heterosexual parents to provide supportive and healthy environments for children. [FN3] Almost every professional group that has studied the issue indicates children are not harmed when raised by same-sex couples, but to the contrary, benefit from them."
I particularly liked their discussion of opinions by people who want to prevent same-sex couples from achieving marriage equality. They court said, ""Plaintiffs presented an abundance of evidence and research, confirmed by our independent research, supporting the proposition that the interests of children are served equally by same-sex parents and opposite-sex parents. On the other hand, we acknowledge the existence of reasoned opinions that dual-gender parenting is the optimal environment for children. These opinions, while thoughtful and sincere, were largely unsupported by reliable scientific studies." This is a very respectful way for the court to disagree with what was surely a very vocal group opposed to same-sex marriage that likely implied that same-sex couples are not fit parents.
Finally, the court had a particularly nice way of summing up the fact that there are no benefits in denying same-sex couples the right to marry. "Thus, the sole conceivable avenue by which exclusion of gay and lesbian people from civil marriage could promote more procreation is if the unavailability of civil marriage for same-sex partners caused homosexual individuals to 'become' heterosexual in order to procreate within the present traditional institution of civil marriage. The briefs, the record, our research, and common sense do not suggest such an outcome."
As a behavioral scientist, I am heartened by the use of research by the court to inform sound public policy. Over the last eight years it has sometimes felt like research was having very little impact on the government's policies, which can be very demoralizing for those of us who do research in order to improve people's health and wellbeing. This triumph is cause for celebration because it can help to improve the lives of same-sex couples and their families living in Iowa, but also because it is a resounding example of how decision makers should use science.
Acknowledgment: The sections from the Iowa Supreme Court decision highlighted in this posting were brought to my attention in an email by Dr. Gregory Herek on the APA division 44 listserv. To learn more about Dr. Herek's important research and advocacy on behalf of LGBT people visit his website at http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/.
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