Psychologists to endorse gay marriage
By Marilyn Elias, USA TODAY


Gay couples should be able to marry in civil ceremonies and, if they are parents, they deserve all the legal rights of straight parents, says a policy the American Psychological Association was expected to adopt Wednesday at its Honolulu meeting.

"We're going out on a limb," says Diane Halpern, president of APA, the nation's largest group of psychologists. "But we're doing what we should be doing." Denying gays the right to marry "puts a particular stress on them just because of their sexual orientation. It's a health issue and a mental health issue," Halpern says.

President Bush favors a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. A Senate filibuster this month killed the federal amendment bill, but amendments to ban same-sex unions in state constitutions are on the ballot this summer and fall in seven states. Lawmakers in four more states are considering legislation to put the matter before voters.

Children raised by homosexuals are just as mentally healthy as those with heterosexual parents, Halpern says.