A.P.A. Supports Same Sex Marriage
Article information
Volume:
Topics:
Author:
Related Entries
A Review of Same-Sex Marriage and Children: A Tale of History, Social Science, and Law
Same-Sex Marriage and Children is a history of how both the law and social science culminated in court cases that ultimately led to the success of marital equality in Obergefell. Professor Carlos A. Ball, Distinguished Professor of Law & Judge Frederick Lacey Scholar at Rutgers University Law School, has law degrees from both Cambridge University (UK, 1995) and the Columbia University School of Law (1990). He states that the purpose of his book was to “bring together historical, social science, and legal considerations and analyses to explore the role that procreative and child welfare claims have played in
policy and legal debates involving same-sex marriage” (p. 6). In chapter one, the book reviews conservative attempts to derail a number of past legal challenges to traditional assumptions about the nature and role of marriage and parenting. Chapters two and three delve into some of the false arguments about the alleged procreational function of marriage that would have (allegedly) been damaged by legal acceptance of same-sex marriage or other false arguments that marital status per se, parent’s gender, or a parent’s biological relationship to a child had material effects on child outcomes.
My Conversation with a Typical Opponent of Professional Therapies that Include Change
In this article I present in conversational form a hypothetical interaction between myself and a Typical Opponent of Professional Therapies that Include Change (i.e., a Mr. Ty Optic). While hypothetical, this conversation is comprised of responses to common arguments frequently offered by people who are increasingly intent on legally restricting client self-determination and professional speech in the psychological care of unwanted same-sex attractions and behaviors. Through the vehicle of this conversation, I hope to highlight the many difficulties with these arguments, particularly the incomplete or dishonest representation of the scientific record as regards to change in same-sex attractions and behaviors and the false caricatures of licensed therapists who do this work. Those who value clients’ rights to choose a professional course of care consistent with their moral, religious, and cultural beliefs are encouraged to familiarize themselves with these responses.