On November 18, 2003, after many months of deliberation, the highest court in Massachusetts ruled that prohibiting gay and lesbian couples from civil marriage was in violation of the state's constitution. Chief Justice Margaret Marshall stated in the ruling: “Barred access to the protections, benefits, and obligations of civil marriage, a person who enters into an intimate, exclusive union with another of the same sex is arbitrarily deprived of membership in one of our community's most rewarding and cherished institutions. That exclusion is incompatible with the constitutional principles of respect for individual autonomy and equality under law.”
The New England advocacy organization Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) argued the case on behalf of Hillary and Julie Goodrich and six other gay/lesbian couples who had sued Massachusetts' Department of Public Health for the right to marry. In preparation for their argument, GLAD's team of lawyers prepared an amicus brief addressing psychological, relationship, and child welfare issues of same-sex couples, bringing to the court's attention the scientific evidence that same-sex relationships are comparable to opposite-sex relationships and that the children of gay and lesbian parents fare as well as children from heterosexual parents.
APsaA was asked to sign on to the brief in November 2002. After careful review by the Executive Committee and input from the Executive Council's science advisor, Robert Galatzer-Levy, and the Committee on Gay and Lesbian Issues, Newell Fischer endorsed the brief on behalf of our association. Several other professional organizations joined the brief, including the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society, National Association of Social Workers, the Massachusetts Association of NASW, the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, the Psychoanalytic Institute of New England, the Psychoanalytic Couple and Family Institute of New England, the Massachusetts Association for Psychoanalytic Psychology, and the Gottman Institute.
This was not the first time our association considered the issues of same-sex marriage or gay and lesbian parenting. In 1997, APsaA endorsed a Marriage Resolution circulated nationally by Lambda Legal Defense which stated:
Because marriage is a basic human right and an individual personal choice, RESOLVED, the State should not interfere with same-gender couples who choose to marry and share fully and equally in the rights, responsibilities, and commitment of civil marriage.
And in 2002 a Position Statement on gay and lesbian parenting was adopted as follows:
The American Psychoanalytic Association supports the position that the salient consideration in decisions about parenting, including conception, child rearing, adoption, visitation, and custody is the best interest of the child. Accumulated evidence suggests the best interest of the child requires attachment to committed, nurturing, and competent parents. Evaluation of an individual or couple for these parental qualities should be determined without prejudice regarding sexual orientation. Gay and lesbian individuals and couples are capable of meeting the best interest of the child and should be afforded the same rights and should accept the same responsibilities as heterosexual parents. With the adoption of this position statement, we support research studies that further our understanding of the impact of both traditional and gay/lesbian parenting on a child's development.
As Newell Fischer said in his November 18, 2003, posting to our membership, “We should all feel quite pleased with our participation in this important effort and the favorable outcome.”
Fischer told TAP, “The American Psychoanalytic Association fully supports these actions—actions that are an affirmation of our belief in individual freedom.”
Gary Grossman Ph.D., is chair of APsaA's Committee on Gay and Lesbian Issues.