Liberal Intolerance Beginning To Show...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny


Apparently the tendency to accept only information, data, research (by scientific method), and evidence that supports ones predetermined conclusion is something which both the right and the left are guilty of.

Today I am talking specifically about new research that draws different conclusions about young adults raised in same sex relationships as compared to children raised in traditional families.

The new study, a product of University of Texas sociologist Mark Regnerus’s New Family Structures Study (NFSS) is being attacked by those who are driven solely by pro gay bisa. Note: - the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance against Defamation (GLAAD) called it a “flawed, misleading, and scientifically unsound paper that seeks to disparage lesbian and gay parents.” A writer at The American Prospect said it was “appalling and irresponsible.” An assistant editor at The New Republic called Regnerus a “retrograde researcher” and suggested that this study should “mark the beginning of the end of Mark Regnerus’s credibility with respectable news outlets.” Of course this virulent and unfounded attack is nothing less than the same intolerance the left so readily accuses the right of engaging in at almost every turn. A bit hypocritical methinks.

This site has repeatedly stated its support for civil unions between gay and lesbian couples, and recently has stated its support for marriage between gay and lesbian couples. But the issue being studied is not about same sex relationships per se, it is about the result of same sex parenting if you will and the effect on young adults raised in same sex families. Something that reasonable people, particularly those same sex couples who plan to raise children would be interested in.

It is perfectly valid that these type of studies are being completed. As well it is proper to question the results of such studies, which generally leads to further study and ultimately provides valuable insight into how changing beliefs effect society at large. Something we all should be interested in.

I make no statement with respect to the validity or lack thereof in regards to this new study. Rather my concern is that the study be given the light of day, objectively analyzed by critical and unbiased researchers and scientists in the field of social science so society is better positioned to adapt to, and in the most effective and positive way handle the challenges of changing social realities. How these changing realities effect the children of same sex families is important to society at large, as well as to the children themselves.

The Foundry, Jennifer Marshall - The author of a new study showing some negative outcomes for young adults whose parents had same-sex relationships is under attack because his findings conflict with what, in some corners, has become conventional wisdom.

Apparently, the idea that there is “no difference” between children of same-sex parents and their peers raised in traditional married mother-and-father households has become so entrenched among some advocates that new research presenting a contrasting picture is unwelcome—to put it mildly.

University of Texas sociologist Mark Regnerus’s New Family Structures Study (NFSS) is a large, nationally representative random sample of 3,000 young adults ages 18–39. It found better outcomes for those raised in intact biological families when compared to peers in seven other family structures.

Despite the quality of the sample and the wide range of findings, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance against Defamation (GLAAD) called it a “flawed, misleading, and scientifically unsound paper that seeks to disparage lesbian and gay parents.” A writer at The American Prospect said it was “appalling and irresponsible.” An assistant editor at The New Republic called Regnerus a “retrograde researcher” and suggested that this study should “mark the beginning of the end of Mark Regnerus’s credibility with respectable news outlets.”

And these are the folks who urge us to be tolerant of differences and respect scientific research.

The peer-reviewed study that some are writing off as “dangerous propaganda” has in fact been credited by its critical reviewers for advancing research through its use of a large, nationally representative random sample. In a response that appears in the same issue of the journal Social Science Research, demographer Cynthia Osborne says that “the Regnerus study is more scientifically rigorous than most of the other studies in this area.”

Similarly, Penn State sociologist Paul Amato writes that the NFSS “is probably the best that we can hope for, at least in the near future.”

Another Penn State sociologist, David Eggebeen, concludes that Regnerus’s study and Loren Marks’s analysis of prior studies, published in the same journal, “offer reasonable arguments for…more caution when drawing strong conclusions based on the available science.” {Read More}

Worth considering.

Via: Memeorandum

Comments

  1. On a personal note (not that my experience is the be-all and end-all, mind you), I grew up without a father (he died when I was 5) and it sucked. If I were to personally counsel a lesbian couple on adopting children, I would advise them to pick a girl to raise.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Here's an excellent take on all this from William Saletan: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_nature/2012/06/don_t_let_criticism_of_the_new_gay_parents_study_become_a_war_on_science.2.html

    What the study actually reveals is, regardless of the sexual orientation of parents and parental figures, family stability is better for children.

    If anything, this study should be a boost for gay marriage advocates, and the knee-jerk reaction against it from some liberal gay advocates is a mistake. Both the left and right, as Saletan says, can learn from this study.

    I strongly recommend reading Saletan's piece.

    JMJ

    ReplyDelete
  3. Given the problems of hetro marriages, like high divorce rate, broken families, etc., I see no evidence that gay marriages are worse. This study is unconvincing.

    ReplyDelete

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