Tag: Mark Regnerus

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Utah distances itself from discredited Regnerus study in advance of 10 Circuit Court marriage equality appeal

Mark Regnerus

The state of Utah filed a last minute brief yesterday with the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in advance of oral arguments which begin today in the lawsuit over the state’s marriage equality ban.

The brief basically steps back from using the flawed and discredited study by Mark Regnerus, which has been referenced by many anti-marriage equality opponents as reason to discriminate against gay couples who wish to marry.

From the letter:

Utah files this supplemental letter in response to recent press reports and analysis of the study by Professor Mark Regnerus, which the State cited at footnotes 34 and 42 of its Opening Brief, and which addresses the debate over whether same-sex parenting produces child outcomes that are comparable to man-woman parenting.

First, we wish to emphasize the very limited relevance to this case of the comparison addressed by Professor Regnerus. As the State’s briefing makes clear, the State’s principal concern is the potential long-term impact of a redefinition of marriage on the children of heterosexual parents. The debate over man-woman versus same-sex parenting has little if any bearing on that issue, given that being raised in a same-sex household would normally not be one of the alternatives available to children of heterosexual parents.

Second, on the limited issue addressed by the Regnerus study, the State wishes to be clear about what that study (in the State’s view) does and does not establish. The Regnerus study did not examine as its sole focus the outcomes of children raised in same-sex households but, because of sample limitations inherent in the field of study at this point, examined primarily children who acknowledged having a parent who had engaged in a same-sex relationship. Thus, the Regnerus study cannot be viewed as conclusively establishing that raising a child in a same-sex household produces outcomes that are inferior to those produced by man-woman parenting arrangements.

The bolding is mine.

Regernus’ study was blasted recently in the marriage equality ruling handed down in Michigan. And while he was testifying in Michigan, his own school where he teaches issued a statement putting space between the university and Regnerus.

Here’s a brief recap going into oral arguments for the case in the 10th Circuit today.

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Michigan judge eviscerates discredited research by Mark Regnerus in same-sex marriage ruling

One of the best parts of Judge Bernard Friedman’s ruling that found Michigan’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional were his comments on Mark Regnerus’s testimony regarding his discredited “study” on the impact of same-sex couples on children.

In short, the judge eviscerated him:

“The Court finds Regnerus’s testimony entirely unbelievable and not worthy of serious consideration.

“The evidence adduced at trial demonstrated that his 2012 ‘study’ was hastily concocted at the behest of a third-party funder, which found it ‘essential that the necessary data be gathered to settle the question in the forum of public debate about what kinds of family arrangement are best for society’ and which ‘was confident that the traditional understanding of marriage will be vindicated by this study.’

“While Regnerus maintained that the funding source did not affect his impartiality as a researcher, the Court finds this testimony unbelievable. The funder clearly wanted a certain result, and Regnerus obliged.

“Whatever Regnerus may have found in this ‘study,’ he certainly cannot purport to have undertaken a scholarly research effort to compare the outcomes of children raised by same-sex couples with those of children raised by heterosexual couples.

“It is no wonder that the NFSS has been widely and severely criticized by other scholars, and that Regnerus’s own sociology department at the University of Texas has distanced itself from the NFSS in particular and Dr. Regnerus’s views in general.”

Bolding is mine.  But you have to love the “quotes” around the word study placed there by the judge.

Regnerus’ “study” has been held up by right-wing nuts as ‘evidence” that same-sex couples can’t raise children with the same success as heterosexual couples.

Thank you Judge Friedman for not only your fair and balanced ruling, but shining a light on Regnerus’ sad slop-job of a study meant only to harm LGBT families.

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Michigan: Discredited researcher Mark Regnerus testifies at same-sex marriage ban trial

The Chairman of the University of Texas at Austin’s Sociology Department issued a statement today denouncing the work of discredited Mark Regnerus:

Like all faculty, Dr. Regnerus has the right to pursue his areas of research and express his point of view.

However, Dr. Regnerus’ opinions are his own. They do not reflect the views of the Sociology Department of The University of Texas at Austin.

Nor do they reflect the views of the American Sociological Association, which takes the position that the conclusions he draws from his study of gay parenting are fundamentally flawed on conceptual and methodological grounds and that findings from Dr. Regnerus’ work have been cited inappropriately in efforts to diminish the civil rights and legitimacy of LBGTQ partners and their families.

We encourage society as a whole to evaluate his claims.

Regnerus’ now discredited study has been used as ammunition by dozens of anti-gay marriage activists in trying to bolster claims that children in same-sex households do worse than in heterosexual households. Regnerus based his findings on a survey of 15,000 people that only interviewed two children raised in same-sex households.

Regnerus is currently testifying in the Michigan marriage equality lawsuit as an “expert witness.”

During testimony today, an ACLU lawyer brought up the University of Texas’ statement.  Regnerus says he had seen it and it was “regrettable” and “inappropriate.”   He also admitted that he has strong personal feelings against the idea of marriage equality.

You can follow the Michigan trial minute by minute at reporter Amy Lange’s Twitter feed.

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Discredited researcher Mark Regnerus says gay marriage will encourage anal sex in hetero couples

Mark Regnerus, who authored the highly flawed and discredited study on the effects of same-sex marriage on children, recently spoke at the Catholic Franciscan University of Steubenville. 

During his hour long speech,  he said same-sex marriage would encourage straight men to ask for anal sex from their wives or girl friends.

Seriously.