Dr. Carlos A. Ball, a Rutgers School of Law professor, has released his latest book, Same-Sex Marriage and Children: A Tale of Social Science, History, and Law.
Ball talked with Windy City Times about how the last real argument social conservatives use against marriage equality is that same-sex parents are detrimental to child development. In his book, Ball aims to clarify why LGBT parents are just as capable to raise a child as heterosexual parents, but also he airs his perception of how marriage equality improves the welfare of children of same-sex couples as well as discusses what makes an excellent parent regardless of sexual orientation or gender.
Socially conservative leaders with influential power in politics and the media, like Roger Ailes and the Koch brothers, along with conservative advocacy groups like the Family Research Council maintain untrue stories about same-sex parents in the United States, according to Ball. In the book, Ball maintains, "Unfortunately, state governments and state lawyers involved in litigation no longer make and control these arguments." He continued by explaining to WCT how these powerful people and organizations spend unbelieveable amounts of money to push their anti-gay agenda onto the public in order to keep the lies alive. In his book, Ball underlines the tactics of social conservatives by highlighting the weakness of their arguments and revealing how their reasoning is not supported by the social sciences.
Professor Mark Regnerus, a sociologist at the University of Texas in Austin, published a research study in 2012 arguing that the children of same-sex couples face "substantial disadvantages" compared to different-sex parents. Social conservatives have latched onto this study; this past March, Michigan officials asked Professor Regnerus to testify in defense of the state's ban on same-sex marriage. However, according to Ball, serious social scientists have examined the study and "raised fatal questions about its reliability, with Ball believing Regnerus' research should possess no legal status. When asked if there is even one legitimate research study citing differences between heterosexual and homosexual parents, Ball responded, "The gender of the parent is not related to parent quality. Gender is irrelevant to the well-being of children."
According to the book, many social conservatives use the term "responsible procreation" when promoting the anti-LGBT agenda. This refers to the idea that permitting same-sex couples marriage equality sends a confusing message to straight people because it disconnects marriage from procreation. Then, as this disconnect becomes more cemented in society, the government is no longer promoting the idea that those who want to procreate should do it within the institution of marriage. Talking with WCT, Ball said, "I argue in my book that it is completely unfair and unjustified to deny same-sex couples the opportunity to marry to simply not send a message to heterosexuals about marriage. The issues are completely separate. The question is very different."
Another important part of "Same-Sex Marriage and Children" is Ball's argument against the socially conservative idea called "family optimality." According to the Family Research Council, "family optimality" is the concept that only households with a married mother and father who are biologically related to their children constitute the optimum family formation. All other formations are suboptimal.
Ball emphasizes the various flaws in the "family optimality" argument explaining how when a child is put up for adoption, the courts and child welfare officials don't ask themselves what the optimum family formation is for a child without parents. Rather, according to Ball, they ask, "Is allowing this adoption to these particular individuals promoting the absolute best welfre for the child?" Ball continues on and explains how there are too many children who need help for the government or adoption agencies to consider unsubstantiated ideas like "family optimality."
Furthermore, Ball said that many of the research studies social conservatives use to compare single-parent households to same-sex parent households do not actually reveal anything about the quality of gay parents. Ball said, "It is very unfortunate and misguided. Single-parent vs. two-parent household studies cannot be compared to same-sex parent familes because they don't justify the continued denial of marriage equality in some states. Also, countless single parents are quite excellent mothers and fathers. It is simply wrong."
Ball is a gay father. He and his partner, Richard Storrow, have two sons together, Emmanuel and Sebastian. Their children enjoy learning the piano, cooking, and playing baseball and the family recently finished a 10K all-together. Same-Sex Marriage and Children: A Tale of Social Science, History, and Law is out now and available on Amazon.
