Tag: mark regnerus

"It doesn’t matter a bit whether parents are gay or straight, only that they treat their children with respect and provide a sense of security."

The conservatives who bankrolled a widely cited but flawed academic study critical of gay parents timed its release to influence “major decisions of the Supreme Court” on gay marriage, documents show.

The University of Texas at Austin has begun releasing university records surrounding UT sociology professor Mark Regnerus’ controversial “New Family Structures Study,” following the Texas Office of the Attorney General’s recent ruling in favor of an American Independent records request.

When University of Texas professor Mark Regnerus released a study this summer portraying gay parents in a negative light, he insisted that the conservative funders who backed the research had no involvement in how it was designed, implemented, or interpreted. But recently emerging evidence shows that a scholar affiliated at the time with the Witherspoon Institute — the socially conservative think tank that supplied the bulk of Regnerus’ funding — did indeed play a role carrying out and analyzing the study.

A Republican-controlled congressional body this week used a controversial new parenting study to argue that the Defense of Marriage Act is constitutional.

The University of Texas says it should not have to release documents related to a controversial parenting study conducted by one of its professors, citing as one of its reasons an “ongoing compliance investigation” into allegations of scientific misconduct.

Just one day after the results of a controversial parenting study were released to the public, the research was used – and misrepresented – in a federal court brief defending the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act.

A dozen groups fighting against marriage equality are touting a controversial study about gay and lesbian parenting that was funded by two conservative organizations.