Psychologists provided scientific evidence of the benefits of same-sex marriages
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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The American Psychological Association urged officials to immediately stop applying legal laws that infringe the rights of sexual minorities.
In particular, American psychologists are not satisfied with the situation that has developed around same-sex marriages. At the last meeting of the association in Washington, its members voted unanimously for a resolution calling for the lifting of the ban on marriages between gays or lesbians. In this case, psychologists emphasize that the controversy, which does not stop around same-sex marriages, only aggravates the situation and leads to the fact that representatives of sexual minorities feel even more disadvantaged.
The APA decision to support unconventional marriages is explained by the fact that the association now has scientific evidence of their usefulness for same-sex partners. According to one of the leaders of the association of Dr. Clinton Anderson, homosexual marriage carries in itself all the same values and benefits as the traditional union. This conclusion was made on the basis of the latest psychological research, which was made possible through the resolution of same-sex unions in several states.
The American Psychological Association is the largest and one of the most influential associations of professional psychologists in the world, which consists of more than 150,000 specialists from different countries. As USA Today reminds, the association supported gays for many years and advocated the abolition of the ban on same-sex marriages. Nevertheless, there have been no official resolutions on this issue, since the association did not have scientific facts confirming the advisability of marriages between members of the same sex.
At the moment, six states (plus the District of Columbia) allow same-sex partners to marry in their territory. These are Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York. This situation does not suit gay activists who lobby for the permission of same-sex unions at the federal level. Currently, the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defines marriage as a union of a man and a woman and thereby prohibits gays or lesbians from officially marrying. By the same law, same-sex couples who registered their union in the state, where permitted, do not have the same federal rights as heterosexual couples.
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