Friday, September 3, 2010

National Association of Social Workers (NASW), Calls Proposition 8 Decision “A Great Day in the Struggle for Human Rights” August 11, 2010

WASHINGTON –The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) lauds this week’s decision to overturn the ban on same sex marriage in California.

“It’s a great day in the struggle for human rights,” says NASW President James Kelly, PhD, ACSW. “The decision in the U.S. District Court marks a major milestone in our country’s march toward full equality for all. ”

NASW is a long-time advocate for marriage equality. NASW’s support for the rights of same-sex couples to marry and have equal recognition of familial rights is based on the NASW Code of Ethics’ prohibition on discrimination based on sexual orientation and social workers’ traditional advocacy for exploited and vulnerable people. NASW’s policy statements support advocacy for equal rights for gay and lesbian people (NASW, 2009) and the NASW Board of Directors specifically re-affirmed the association’s support for same-sex marriage in 2004 (NASW, June 2004).

NASW’s involvement as a “friend of the court” on same-sex marriage cases has been substantial. NASW has filed or joined amicus curiae briefs addressing same-sex marriage rights in California, Massachusetts, New York, Iowa, Oregon, New Jersey, Maryland, Nebraska, and Connecticut, as well as numerous cases seeking recognition of the best interests of children to maintain their relationships with gay and lesbian parents’ who seek custody and/or visitation of their minor children in the event of a domestic separation or dissolution.
Read more:
http://www.naswdc.org/pressroom/2010/080610.asp

American Academy of Pediatrics
The Effects of Marriage, Civil Union, and Domestic Partnership Laws on
the Health and Well-being of Children – 2006

American Medical Association - Policy Regarding Sexual Orientation
GLBT Advisory Committee

Children with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Parents
 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry – 2006

Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists
Support of Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Civil Marriage – 2005

Resolution on Sexual Orientation and Marriage - Research Summary –
American Psychological Association – 2004

“Someday, maybe, there will exist a well-informed, well considered and yet fervent public conviction that the most deadly of all possible sins is the mutilation of a child’s spirit.”

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