One of the major reasons the American Pharisees hate gay marriage so much, at least so far as they claim, is because it poses a threat to children.  After all, a child can not possibly hope to have a normal life if they don’t have a mommy and a daddy.  That’s why divorce and out-of-wedlock pregnancies are illegal, right?

Anyway, so we want to save the children from the homosexual menace despite not being able to find a single reliable fact to support that stance.  Children from homes with one or more homosexuals are as normal as children from broken homes, homes with their original parents, homes with foster or adoptive parents, homes with single parents, and homes with a step-parent.  Those are the facts supported by every related study, but we’ll ignore those since it’s for the children.

Well, you better get ready for this one.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the organization focused solely on the welfare of American children, would like you to know you can’t use that premise anymore.  From their report called The Effects of Marriage, Civil Union, and Domestic Partnership Laws on the Health and Well-being of Children:

In all its work, the AAP is committed to calling attention to the inextricable link between the health and well-being of all children, the support and encouragement of all parents, and the protection of strong family relationships. This analysis was prepared to bring to light the legal, financial, and psychosocial ramifications of recent and proposed public-policy initiatives affecting same-gender parents and their children.

Civil marriage is a legal status that promotes healthy families by conferring a powerful set of rights, benefits, and protections that cannot be obtained by other means. Civil marriage can help foster financial and legal security, psychosocial stability, and an augmented sense of societal acceptance and support. Legal recognition of a spouse can increase the ability of adult couples to provide and care for one another and fosters a nurturing and secure environment for their children. Children who are raised by civilly married parents benefit from the legal status granted to their parents.

Gay and lesbian people have been raising children for many years and will continue to do so in the future; the issue is whether these children will be raised by parents who have the rights, benefits, and protections of civil marriage. Same-gender couples are denied the right to civil marriage in every state except Massachusetts and the right to civil union except in Connecticut and Vermont. The federal government and other state governments do not recognize those civil marriages and civil unions.

There is ample evidence to show that children raised by same-gender parents fare as well as those raised by heterosexual parents. More than 25 years of research have documented that there is no relationship between parents’ sexual orientation and any measure of a child’s emotional, psychosocial, and behavioral adjustment. These data have demonstrated no risk to children as a result of growing up in a family with 1 or more gay parents. Conscientious and nurturing adults, whether they are men or women, heterosexual or homosexual, can be excellent parents. The rights, benefits, and protections of civil marriage can further strengthen these families.

Where does that leave us?  I’d say it turns the tide.  For those against gay marriage and equal protection, we can now truthfully say they must hate children.  Period.

[while the report is a bit long, I can not recommend enough that you read it in its entirety; it is eye-opening and informative; it does a great job summarizing the benefits of marriage denied homosexuals, and it also clearly demonstrates the fallacious nature of the point of view that states gay marriage, relationships, and parents are bad for children]