Soulforce has launched an online petition asking the editors of Time magazine to check James Dobson's facts about lesbian and gay parenting.
Lynchburg, VA (PRWeb) December 15, 2006 -- Soulforce has launched an online petition asking the editors of Time magazine to check James Dobson's facts about lesbian and gay parenting.
In this week's Time (12/18/06), James Dobson responds to the news of Mary Cheney's pregnancy by once again invoking "30 years of social-science evidence" to support his claim that children do best "when raised by their married mother and father."
In spite of Dobson's reputation as a benevolent family therapist, his views on lesbian and gay parenting do not reflect the mainstream of American professional organizations concerned with researching and promoting children's wellbeing. In a 2004 policy statement, the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy reported "no evidence that same-sex couples or family units vary significantly from heterosexual couples or family units in terms of aspirations, hopes and goals, or in outcomes for children."
In response to Dobson's editorial, Soulforce contacted Dr. Christopher R. Martell, President of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues. According to Dr. Martell:
"Over and again the data show that a loving and safe home environment is important, not the gender of the parents. The mainstream research is so clear on this matter that the American Psychological Association's resolution on Sexual Orientation of Parents and Children, which was adopted by the APA Council of Representatives in July, 2004, states: 'the APA supports the protection of parent-child relationships through the legalization of joint adoptions and second parent adoptions of children being reared by same-sex couples.'
"The American Psychological Association, one of the world's largest mental health organizations, would not have supported the protection of legalized adoption by gay and lesbian parents if the data had suggested that children were at risk in such households."
Time has a history of excellent coverage of LGBT issues. In recent years, the magazine has been nominated multiple times for GLAAD media awards. According to Soulforce Media Director Paige Schilt, "We applaud Time's past coverage. With this petition we are asking the editors to continue this tradition by checking Dobson's facts on lesbian and gay parenthood."
Schilt continued, "Soulforce and other organizations have repeatedly documented Dobson's misleading statements about the research on LGBT families. In the interest of journalistic integrity, publications such as Time must contextualize his statements with evidence from credible, peer-reviewed research."
The online petition can be found at www.soulforce.org/petition/2
About Soulforce
Soulforce is a national civil rights and social justice organization. Our vision is freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from religious and political oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance. For more information go to www.soulforce.org.
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