In a desperate attempt to find answers to questions it could not respond to at the select committee hearing on civil unions, the Maxim Institute has turned, once again, to American fundamentalists for supplementary information slamming gay parenting, which it may have found by trawling the internet. Maxim has provided MPs on the select committee with information from the 'American College of Pediatricians' which says gay parenting is “potentially hazardous to children” and “dangerously irresponsible.” This information is available within seconds via Google search, which also reveals the same paper has already been used around the world by religious right sources. Although the “American College of Pediatricians” claims that research on gay parenting is “limited”, it has seen fit to conclude (in information not provided to MPs) that gays and lesbians are promiscuous, are more prone to mental illness, substance abuse, violent relationships, and have short lifespans. The sources for this “research” are many of the same fundamentalist sources quoted by Maxim in numerous select committee submissions. Maxim did not reveal to MPs that the “American College of Pediatricians” frowns upon sex before marriage, abortion, and expects “societal forces to support the two-parent, father-mother family unit”. It also supports a movie monitoring service run by fundie group “Focus on the Family” which cautions parents against the “feminist sentiments” in the hit NZ film “Whale Rider”. Maxim also ignored the authoritative and non-partisan American Psychological Association's (APA) conclusions on gay families and parenting. “Gay and lesbian parents are as likely as heterosexual parents to provide healthy and supportive environments for their children,” the APA concluded in a briefing paper in June of this year which supported the legalisation of gay marriage. The APA is the world's largest association of psychologists. The Tennessee-based “American College of Pediatricians” has no apparent standing outside of fundamentalist circles, and has only fifty-seven charter members.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 17th November 2004 - 12:00pm