100% found this document useful (3 votes)
8K views47 pages

Dawn Stefanowicz Amicus Brief

This document is an amicus brief submitted in support of defendants-appellants in the case of De Leon v. Perry. The brief was submitted by Dawn Stefanowicz to support reversing the district court's decision. The brief contains six sections arguing that growing up in a gay household can be harmful, that same-sex parenting studies have limitations, and that political correctness influences the science in this area. The brief cites numerous other sources and studies in making its arguments against same-sex parenting.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
100% found this document useful (3 votes)
8K views47 pages

Dawn Stefanowicz Amicus Brief

This document is an amicus brief submitted in support of defendants-appellants in the case of De Leon v. Perry. The brief was submitted by Dawn Stefanowicz to support reversing the district court's decision. The brief contains six sections arguing that growing up in a gay household can be harmful, that same-sex parenting studies have limitations, and that political correctness influences the science in this area. The brief cites numerous other sources and studies in making its arguments against same-sex parenting.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 47

Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378

00512728662 Page: 1 Date Filed: 09/15/2014


08/11/2014

No. 14-50196
_________________________________________

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS


FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
__________________________________________

CLEOPATRA DE LEON; NICOLE DIMETMAN; VICTOR HOLMES;


MARK PHARISS,

PLAINTIFFS-APPELLEES;

v.

RICK PERRY, in His Official Capacity as Governor of the


State of Texas; GREG ABBOTT, in His Official Capacity as
Texas Attorney General; DAVID LAKEY, in His Official
Capacity as Commissioner of the Department of State
Health Services,

DEFENDANTS-APPELLANTS.

____________________________________________

ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE


WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS, SAN ANTONIO DIVISION, CASE NO.
5:13-CV-982
___________________________________________

BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE DAWN STEFANOWICZ SUPPORTING


DEFENDANTS-APPELLANTS AND SUPPORTING REVERSAL
___________________________________________

David Boyle
P.O. Box 15143
Long Beach, CA 90815
(734) 904-6132
[email protected]
Counsel for Amicus Curiae B.N. Klein
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 2 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

CERTIFICATE OF INTERESTED PERSONS

Case 14-50196, Civil

Pursuant to Fifth Circuit Rule 28.2.1, the undersigned counsel of record

certifies that the following listed persons and entities as described in the fourth

sentence of Rule 28.2.1 have an interest in the outcome of this case. These

representations are made in order that the judges of this court may evaluate

possible disqualification or recusal.

APPELLANTS:

Rick Perry, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Texas.

Greg Abbott, in his official capacity as Texas Attorney General.

David Lakey, in his official capacity as Commissioner of the Texas Department of

State Health Services.

(APPELLANTS’ ATTORNEYS:

Jonathan F. Mitchell, Solicitor General

Kyle D. Highful

Beth Ellen Klusmann

Michael P. Murphy

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL)

APPELLEES:

Cleopatra DeLeon, Nicole Dimetman, Victor Holmes, Mark Phariss.

i
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 3 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

(APPELLEES’ ATTORNEYS:

Barry Alan Chasnoff

Jessica M. Weisel

Michael P. Cooley

Daniel McNeel Lane, Jr.

Andrew Forest Newman

Matthew Edwin Pepping

AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD, LLP)

This list does not include the various amici in the case, especially since they are

not parties or parties’ attorneys, and the list of amici is growing. However, if

wished, a list can be supplied.

Amicus Curiae Dawn Stefanowicz is an individual who has no parent

corporation, or any publicly held corporation that owns 10% or more of stock of

that nonexistent parent corporation.

s/David Boyle

Attorney of record for Amicus


Curiae Dawn Stefanowicz

ii
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 4 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATE OF INTERESTED PERSONS…………………………………….i

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES……………………………………………………....iv

ARGUMENT……………………………….…….…………………...….………...2

I. Growing Up In A Gay Household…………………………………………..........2

II. Daughters of Gay Fathers……………………………………..……………….10

III. Instability of Gay Households………………………………………………...11

IV. Silencing Our Voices………………………………………………….............15

V. Political Correctness & Science………..…………..…………………………..21

VI. Same-sex Parenting Studies……………………….……………………….…22

CONCLUSION………….…………………………….…………………...……..29

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE……………………………………………………30

CERTIFICATE OF ELECTRONIC COMPLIANCE ……………………………31

FORM 6. CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH RULE 32(a)……………..32

iii
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 5 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

CASES
De Leon v. Perry, No. 14-50196 (No. 5:13-cv-982, 975 F. Supp. 2d 632 (W.D.

Tex. Feb. 12, 2014))…………………………………………………………...1

RULES

Fed. R. App. P. 29……………………………………………………………...1 n.1

OTHER AUTHORITIES

Kathy Belge, Top 10 LGBT Scholarships - Top College Scholarships for

LGBT Students (About.com),

http://lesbianlife.about.com/od/youth/tp/Scholarships.htm.........................17 & n.12

BILL C-38: THE CIVIL MARRIAGE ACT, LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF BILL

C-38, Royal Assent: 20 July 2005. Statutes of Canada S.C. 2005, c. 33,

http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/Parliament/LegislativeSummaries/bills_ls.asp?ls=c38

&Parl=38&Ses=1..........................................................................................15 & n.9

Psychotherapy Notes, CAMFT director apologies for articles opposing same-sex

marriage, in the summer issue of the Therapist,

iv
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 6 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

http://mftprogress.blogspot.ca/2009/07/camft-director-apologies-for-

articles.html.......................................................................................16 & n.16

Families Like Mine, http://familieslikemine.com/………..………...…….16 & n.11

Scott James, Many Successful Gay Marriages Share an Open Secret, New York

Times, Jan. 28, 2010,

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/us/29sfmetro.html?_r=2…………22 & n.17

National Health and Social Life Survey (1994), in E.O. Laumann, et al, The Social

Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States, Chicago:

University of Chicago Press, pp. 294-296); Nigel Dickson, C. Paul, P. Herbison,

(2002). Same-sex attraction in a birth cohort: prevalence and persistence in early

adulthood, Social Science & Medicine, 56, 1607-1615. …………………24 & n.18

NARTH, Book Review of Robert Lerner, Ph.D. and Nagia, Althea, Ph.D., No

Basis: What the studies Don’t tell us about same-sex parenting. Marriage Law

Project, Washington D.C. 1/01.

http://www.narth.org/docs/lernernagai.html...............................................25 & n.20

v
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 7 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

Loren Marks, Louisiana State University, Same-sex parenting and children’s

outcomes: A closer examination of the American psychological association’s brief

on lesbian and gay parenting, Social Science Research 41 (2012) 735-

751…….......................................................................................................27 & n.25

Nock Aff. ¶ 3, Halpern v. Attorney General of Canada, No. 684/00 (Ont. Sup. Ct.

of Justice)………………………………………………..……….......24-15 & n.19

Walter Olson, By reader acclaim: “Man Sues Over Gay Marriage Question On

Bar Exam”, July 7, 2007,

http://overlawyered.com/2007/07/by-reader-acclaim-man-sues-over-gay-marriage-

question-on-bar-exam/……………………...…………………………….22 & n.16

Ellen C. Perrin, American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Psychosocial

Aspects of Child and Family Health. Coparent or second-parent adoption by same-

sex parents. 109 Pediatrics 339–340 (2002),

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/109/2/341.full.......................26 & n.23

vi
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 8 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

David Popenoe, Life Without Fathers: Compelling Evidence that Fatherhood and

Marriage Are Indispensible for the Good of Children, (Cambridge: Harvard

University Press, 1996), pp. 144, 146……………………………………27 & n.26

Amended Declaration of Sharon Quick, M.D., expert witness in the Iowa District

Court For Polk County,

familywatchinternational.org/fwi/Quickexpertwitnessstatement.pdf …...25 & n.21

Sharon Quick, Replication of Quotation Errors at: http://www.acpeds.org/the-

college-speaks/for-policy-makers/marriage-rights-for-homosexual-couples-not-the-

best-for-children ………………………………………..……………....26 & n.22

Mark Regnerus, How Different Are the Adult Children of Parents Who Have Same-

Sex Relationships? Findings from the New Family Structures Study,

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049089X12000610...

…………………………………………………………………………27-29 & n.29

Mark Regnerus, A Married Mom and Dad Really Do Matter: New Evidence from

Canada, The Witherspoon Inst., Oct 2013,

vii
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 9 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2013/10/10996/..................................29 & n.28

……………………………………………………………………………...……..35

Ruth A.M. Ross, lawyer, Let the Little Children …Three Parent Case 1 Update,

Christian Legal Fellowship, (Posted Jan 15.07), p.1-2 ………………………..…17

Dawn Stefanowicz, author of Out From Under: The Impact of Homosexual

Parenting (Redemption Press, April 1, 2014 and Kindle, Redemption Press, June

16, 2014)…………………………...……………………………………………….1

Dawn Stefanowicz, media guest, see INTERVIEWS with Dawn at:

http://www.dawnstefanowicz.org/documents/INTERVIEWSwithDawnS_009.pdf)

……………………………………………………………………………………2-3

Submitted Testimony, Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2009, Legislation

Committee, The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs, 26 November 2009,

Australia

http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Co

nstitutional_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/2008-10/marriage_equality/report/index

viii
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 10 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

Witness, Dawn Stefanowicz, Bill C-250, to amend the Criminal Code (hate

propaganda), Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and

Constitutional Affairs, Issue 4 - Evidence for March 17, 2004, Ottawa, Canada

http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/373/lega/04eva-

e.htm?Language=E&Parl=37&Ses=3&comm_id=11

Brief Submitted by Dawn Stefanowicz, Bill C-22, an act to amend the Criminal

Code on age of protection and to make consequential amendments to the Criminal

Records Act, the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, House of

Commons, April 17, 2007, Number 060, 1st Session, 39th Parliament, Ottawa,

Canada.

http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=2834262&Lang

uage=E&Mode=1

Dawn Stefanowicz - Connecticut General Assembly Judiciary Committee -

Public Hearing March 26, 2007, Hartford, Connecticut.

http://dawnstefanowicz.org/docs/R000326-DawnTMY.pdf

Dawn C. Stefanowicz, Public Hearing of the Judiciary Committee on the

Marriage Amendment, April 11, 2006, Boston, Massachusetts.

http://www.voteonmarriage.org/leghearing.shtml#dawn ..………..also 22

http://www.dawnstefanowicz.org/ourstories.htm......................................1-2, 11-12

ix
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 11 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

Andy Towle, “GLAAD Issues Call To Action Over FX Networks’ 30 Days,” June

25, 2008, http://www.towleroad.com/2008/06/glaad-issued-a.html and cast of 30

Days, Same-sex Parenting:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3066930/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t16 …..……………..21

Marriage Rights for Homosexual Couples: Not Best for Children

Critique of AAP Special Report - Den A. Trumbull, MD., Joseph R. Zanga,

MD, FAAP, Leah M. Willson, MD, FAAP, Vicki Tucci, Esq., Letter to the

Editor: The Effects of Marriage, Civil Union, and Domestic Partnership Laws on

the Health and Well-being of Children: In Reply http://www.acpeds.org/the-

college-speaks/for-policy-makers/marriage-rights-for-homosexual-couples-not-the-

best-for-children

……………………..……………………………………...………..32

Judith Wallerstein, et al., The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: A25 Year Landmark

Studies, (New York: Hyperion, 2000)……………………………...................…33

x
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 12 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

Wright RH, Cummings NA, editors. Destructive Trends in Mental Health: The

Well-Intentioned Path to Harm. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis

Group; 2005, p.xiv and 308………………………………………………….……26

xi
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 13 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

STATEMENT OF INTEREST OF AMICUS CURIAE

I,1 Dawn Stefanowicz,2 am writing this amicus curiae brief in support of

Defendants/Appellants Rick Perry, et al., to ask that Texas respect the original

definition of marriage as between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all

others. My interest in this case, De Leon v. Perry, No. 14-50196 (No. 5:13-cv-982,

975 F. Supp. 2d 632 (W.D. Tex. Feb. 12, 2014)), is for three key reasons. Firstly,

my interest is due to my diverse personal, professional and social experiences with

my father, his same-sex sexual partners and associated gay, lesbian, bisexual and

transsexual subcultures during the first 30 years of my life.

Secondly, my interest in this case is due to the review of the (mostly flawed)

same-sex parenting research and social science research. Thirdly, my interest is

based on continuing direct communications with many adults from GLBT

households.

Years ago, I began communications with adult children with a gay or lesbian

parent – most adult children wanted to remain anonymous. Adult children marked

by an * I personally communicated with and received permission to post each of

1
I wrote the vast majority of this brief without help from any other party or its
counsel, though my own counsel gave editing, formatting, or other help at the end;
and no party or its counsel gave money to its writing or submission, see Fed. R.
App. P. 29. All parties have filed blanket permission with the Court for amicae/i to
write briefs.
2
Dawn Stefanowicz, author of Out From Under: The Impact of Homosexual
Parenting (Redemption Press, April 1, 2014 and Kindle, Redemption Press, June
16, 2014).
1
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 14 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

their stories to my website since 2006: Lee Taylor*, Debbie Smith*, Mitzy

Lancaster*, Dolores Oliveira*, Jeremy Deck, Jakki Edwards*, Denise Schick*,

Charles Mitchell, Suzanne Cook* and Nathan Bell*. (See our stories at

http://www.dawnstefanowicz.org/ourstories.htm (last visited August 4, 2014, as

with all other Internet links herein).)

ARGUMENT

My position against same-sex marriage is determined based on my review of

the research on marriage and parenting as well as communications with other adult

children who grew up in “alternative” households, involving at least one parent

who had same-sex relationships. Due to the long-term negative impact experienced

by these children, the widespread political correctness and silencing about the

impact on children, the threats to livelihoods and relationships, only a small

number of adult children have gone public.

I. GROWING UP IN A “GAY” HOUSEHOLD

I thank the Court for this opportunity, by the way. I would like to mention that I

am an internationally recognized speaker, author and media spokesperson.3

I acknowledge that children are impacted long-term by various family structures

and living arrangements. I here address the impact of legislation affecting children,
3
For some information about me as media guest, see INTERVIEWS with Dawn,
http://www.dawnstefanowicz.org/documents/INTERVIEWSwithDawnS_009.pdf.

2
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 15 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

and I have advocated for children and families, pertaining to marriage, parenting,

sexuality and education. Internationally, my testimony has been submitted to the

Australian Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Standing Committee and to

Argentina’s senators. I have addressed party leaders in Paraguay. I testified at the

Canadian Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on hate

crime legislation in 2004 and have spoken to a wide range of groups. And I have

provided testimony in six U.S. States: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Florida, Iowa,

Maryland and Washington.

Only my testimonies where hyperlinks are available are listed:

A. Submitted Testimony, Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2009,

Legislation Committee, The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs, 26

November 2009, Australia;4

B. Witness, Dawn Stefanowicz, Bill C-250, to amend the Criminal Code

(hate propaganda), Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on

Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Issue 4 - Evidence for March 17, 2004,

Ottawa, Canada;5

4
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and
_Constitutional_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/2008-10/marriage_equality/report/
index.
5
http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/373/lega/04eva-e.htm?Language
=E&Parl=37&Ses=3&comm_id=11.
3
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 16 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

C. Brief Submitted by Dawn Stefanowicz, Bill C-22, an act to amend the

Criminal Code on age of protection and to make consequential

amendments to the Criminal Records Act, the Standing Committee on

Justice and Human Rights, House of Commons, April 17, 2007, Number

060, 1st Session, 39th Parliament, Ottawa, Canada;6

D. Dawn Stefanowicz - Connecticut General Assembly Judiciary Committee -

Public Hearing March 26, 2007, Hartford, Connecticut;7

E. Dawn C. Stefanowicz, Public Hearing of the Judiciary Committee on the

Marriage Amendment, April 11, 2006, Boston, Massachusetts.8

I was born in Toronto, Canada and grew up with a homosexual father, his same-

sex sexual partners, exposed to the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender)

subcultures, during the first 30 years of my life. I loved my father absolutely.

I am always compassionate towards men and women who struggle with their

sexuality/gender identity. Many of us children who grew up under the GLBT

umbrella struggle with sexuality confusion too.

6
http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=2834262
&Language=E&Mode=1.
7
http://dawnstefanowicz.org/docs/R000326-DawnTMY.pdf.
8
http://www.voteonmarriage.org/leghearing.shtml#dawn.
4
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 17 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

My father grew up in a violent alcoholic home where he was verbally,

physically and sexually abused by older male relatives. As an adolescent, he had

male sexual partners. Though my father initially married my ill and passive

mother, it was during my infancy that my father brought boyfriends into our home,

one who lived with us until I was almost six. Both my twin brother and I were

sexually abused by our dad. By age 3, I unconsciously turned away from Dad to

look for a substitute for father’s love, and in later years, looked for boyfriends.

Along with nightmares and a major speech impediment for 7 years, sleepless

nights, challenges academically, decades of depression and suicidal ideation, I felt

unworthy of love. Peer relationships were difficult for me. It was constantly

stressful around my father and his partners. Dad spent most of his attention on his

male lovers. I never felt safe and secure at home.

For a little girl to grow up in a gay home and GLBT subcultures damages her

sense of femininity and budding womanhood. Women are not the primary

recipients of love and kindness; male and female are not considered equal and

necessary.

I wasn’t surrounded by average heterosexual couples. Dad’s partners slept and

ate in our home, and they took me along to meeting places in the GLBT

5
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 18 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

communities. I was exposed to overt sexual activities like sodomy, nudity,

pornography, group sex, sadomasochism and the ilk. There was no guarantee that

any of my Dad’s partners would be around for long, and yet I often had to obey

them. My rights and innocence were violated.

At nine, I was deeply grieved to find out that two of my father’s partners

committed suicide after Dad rejected them. Even Dad was suicidal and used

prescription sleeping pills for years.

When I was about nine, Dad took me to the downtown sex shop, and to see the

work of gay artists, which sometimes symbolized phallic art. He’d take me to nude

beaches and public parks where gay men met. If the police were coming, they’d tip

one another off and stop sexual activity. The gay community was quite informed

about their meeting places for sex across North America, including: public

beaches, gay bars, bathhouses, mall restrooms, back alleys, gyms or even parks

where children played. My father cruised all over Canada. He also loved coming to

the United States for vacationing and cruising; his favorite cities included San

Francisco, New York, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.

This was before the Internet age’s “online gay hookup” or “cruising” sites,

when men regularly visited the gay bars and bathhouses.

6
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 19 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

As owner of an executive recruiting agency, my father also kept an apartment

near his downtown office where he could meet someone for quick sex. My father

liked well-dressed, “clean-cut” men, who were about 10 years younger than he

was.

Once, when I was in the 10th grade, my father attended my school’s band

performance briefly. I saw his eyes widen when he saw all the teenage boys

performing on the stage with me. He suddenly disappeared. I was heartbroken that

he was really there to pick up young men.

At times, my father would tell me what to wear to dress provocatively and we’d

go out cruising. I didn’t like being treated as an object, but I wanted to spend time

with him. Ultimately I was seeking his love and acceptance. I was not allowed to

freely question him, bring up moral arguments, or hurt his feelings, or I would face

long-term repercussions.

The dangerous road my father and his sexual partners walked included: mental

anguish, psychological impact and physical health risks. Some of my father’s

partners committed suicide when relationships soured. They often had alcohol and

drug addictions and were isolated from family members. Many of them had

sexually-transmitted diseases, lost many partners, had shortened lives and died of

HIV/AIDS. I still grieve the loss of these men.

7
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 20 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

It was not a safe place for children. As a child, you’re at high risk of exposure

to particular pathogens which can be passed on surfaces. These surfaces include:

shared utensils and dishes, toothbrushes, linens and towels. As a little girl, I picked

up whatever razor was left lying around in our washroom and began shaving my

legs - even if it belonged to one of Dad's partners.

Gay sex is messy. I would see and sometimes launder dirty bed sheets, covered

with sperm, feces and lubricant; on occasion. I never saw condoms. During my

teens, I became ill for a few years; and my father sent me to a medical specialist

who treated gay men. My blood was tested; afterwards, I was told to rest.

A few years ago, I told my physician about my father. My doctor sent me for

extensive blood tests required for high risk groups, such as gay men and

prostitutes. Test results showed I had been exposed to pathogens.

My father said that one or more of his partners may sexually abuse my brothers;

yet, my father continued coming home with different men. It was normal practice

for gay men to approach young adolescent males for sex. When I brought home a

14-year-old male friend, my father and his boyfriend approached him for sex.

8
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 21 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

Different men would come to live or visit with us for a time. They had sex all

over the house: in the washroom, hallway, my brothers and my bedrooms, and the

recreation room and attic.

A fatherless 18-year-old artist came to live with us (my father also had sex with

his younger brother who weeks later committed suicide). They’d go out cruising.

Men came home for group sex. My younger brother, unable to cope, was in trouble

with the law, dropping out of school in grade 9.

My twin brother witnessed a lot, including group sex and gay porn. By his late

teens, he attempted suicide. Growing up, these events harmed us in many ways. I

had a twisted view of sexuality, gender, marriage and did not want to marry or

have children. While still a girl, it seemed better if I had been born a boy—Dad

even encouraged me to dress manly and wear men’s cologne. I felt very stressed

and afraid. I never knew what my father and his partners would do next, where

they would go or who they would meet up with. His relationships were unstable.

Even when partnered, my father and his partner would still cruise for sex with

other men.

In my twenties, after marrying my husband and moving out of Toronto, I

reached out to my father. My father shared more than I was allowed to share. We

would talk on the phone until he was too tired to speak. Our visits were emotional

for me, especially the last one. I was able to hold his hand while restraining tears,
9
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 22 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

speak a few words, until it became unbearable. My father died of AIDS in 1991.

Shortly afterwards, I completed final accounting exams and began therapy.

II. DAUGHTERS OF “GAY” FATHERS

A few years ago, I reviewed comments from six adult daughters of gay fathers.

Most daughters wanted to remain anonymous. Political correctness was

unimportant as there were no custody disputes and they were no longer dependent

children. They had no need to support a gay ideology. However, while growing up,

one had to go along with what father wanted to please him, and be with him, and it

may have appeared that we were quite accepting of gay ideology.

Daughters were careful to not anger or hurt their fathers’ feelings. Even today,

if a father is still alive, caution is taken in conversations to ensure fathers are not

offended. Unfortunately, that means daughters often find themselves denying,

suppressing and or lying about their real feelings. The daughters are careful about

bringing their children around their father, as some fathers were sexually abusive.

One daughter could not bring her children around her father because he directed a

“gay” youth drop-in centre in a major city in California, and he was having sex

with some vulnerable male youth there.

None of the daughters mentioned homophobia or lack of tolerance as the

reasons why they suffered. Rather, fathers’ sexual choices and partnerships were

10
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 23 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

named. None expressed a need for social tolerance; instead, daughters expressed a

feeling of being alone and desire to connect with other adult children.

Often, daughters felt a sense of abandonment, that they were not valued and

affirmed. Adult daughters often experience relationship difficulties, including

problems with trust and intimacy. Fathers seem oblivious to these deep-seated

needs of their daughters.

The average age of adult daughters of gay fathers who contacted me was the

40’s. Sometimes the impact on siblings is mentioned. Some daughters and their

siblings were sexually abused as children.

All daughters expressed some level of present-day emotional distress. They

have often dealt with their fathers’ manipulation, control and threats and may still

today. Daughters tended to please as dependents but once they had a greater level

of independence physically and emotionally, they began to distance themselves

from a father’s control, even if deprived of some level of a relationship with him or

losing out on valuable gifts or even an inheritance.

Overall, daughters seek wholeness and some level of reconciliation with their

fathers, if possible, despite the expressed sadness and anger. No daughters

expressed that their fathers understood their true thoughts and feelings.

III. INSTABILITY OF GAY HOUSEHOLDS


11
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 24 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

Over 50 adult children from “alternative” households, plus spouses/ex-spouses

with children and other family members have contacted me.

It is quite difficult to discuss the implications of growing up in a gay household

until later in adulthood when we have developed a measure of personal identity

and independence apart from our GLBT parent, partners and the subcultures.

We are often forced to approve and tolerate all forms of expressed sexuality,

including various sexual and gender identity preferences.

The varied family forms, living arrangements and imposing cultural values play

havoc on us as children. Our home environments have unique and unstable

characteristics, making it difficult to classify adult children into narrow and

restrictive categories for research purposes, especially for gay parenting studies.

These unstable characteristics in our home environments include the presence

and/or absence of the following: a. biological parent(s), b. legal parents/guardians

(incl. foster/adoptive parents), c. parents’ sexual partners, and d. number of

different residences.

As well, parental marital status can vary and include: a. single, b. cohabiting

with one or more boyfriends and/or girlfriends, c. married, d. divorced and/or e.

widowed.

12
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 25 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

Various parental sexual partner(s) may be present in the home environment(s)

during some or all of our childhoods. Thus, children may have lived with one or

more parent(s) and/or one or more parental sexual partner(s) in one or more

residential settings.

Imagine what it is like for a child to have more than two parents, which includes

your father’s and/or mother’s new sexual partner(s) who may go before the court to

request to be “legal” parents, so that you as a child have to split weekends,

holidays and Christmases in different residences with different “family” members

(who do not get along or talk with each other) based on your parents’ current and

previous sexual partners.

You end up never having a real home. Your childhood is divided to please the

adults (whether or not they are called your “parents”). Now, these adults have

argued about where you live, who you visit, what schools you attend, which

doctors you see, what medical procedures you have, what faith/religion you

practice, et cetera. You are often forced, against your conscience, to call dad’s or

mom’s sexual partners: daddy or mommy or special nicknames. “Family” can

involve related siblings, half-brothers or sisters, step-siblings, biological parents,

other “legal” parents and dad’s and/or mom’s past and current sexual partners.

Same-sex marriage creates insurmountable legal, emotional and psychological

hurdles for children.


13
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 26 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

My father had a lot of sexual partners, some of whom lived in our home. Other

lovers only visited, staying for meals and overnights. At least three of my father’s

partners could have requested to be my “legal” parents, since they had some care-

taking role in my everyday life, even if that meant cooking, cleaning or providing a

tip for homework or babysitting, similar to what an auntie or grandma would do.

Thus, there were often varied parental sexual partnerships, family structures,

residential settings and cultural values during our upbringing. Though fostering

and adoption are ways we can enter gay households, most of us were conceived

heterosexually. More recently, at-home insemination kits, artificial reproductive

technologies, egg and/or sperm donors and surrogacy are accessed.

Same-sex marriage treats children like traded commodities, purposely depriving

them of their biological mother and/or biological father. Children lose forever

knowing and relating to their natural mom and/or dad. Children’s identity and

security are robbed. What child does not need to know his or her biological

ancestral roots, next-of-kin and genetic and familial characteristics (such as

physical appearance, medical history, disposition, ethnic and religious origins and

other qualities)? When biological parents’ are reduced to just egg and sperm

donors, children are purposely deprived of their right to their natural father, natural

mother and roots of origin.

14
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 27 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

When same-sex marriage passed in Canada in July, 2005, parenting was

immediately redefined, removing parentage from its biological origins. Canada's

gay marriage law, Bill C-38,9 included a provision to erase the term “natural

parent” and replace it across the board with gender-neutral “legal parent” in federal

law. Now, all children have “legal parents,” as defined by the state, which means

parental rights are have been usurped by the government. Thus, it is a lie when you

hear, “Permitting same-sex couples access to the designation of marriage will not

deprive anyone of any rights.” In effect, same-sex marriage permits state powers to

override the autonomy of biological parents and deprives children of their own

rights to natural parentage.

IV. SILENCING OUR VOICES

California Association of Marriage and Family Therapist’s magazine pulled my

article, and all other articles opposed to same-sex marriage from their summer

edition 2009, after activists became agitated and threatened action. To satiate the

9
BILL C-38: THE CIVIL MARRIAGE ACT, LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF
BILL C-38, Royal Assent: 20 July 2005. Statutes of Canada S.C. 2005, c. 33,
available at http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/Parliament/LegislativeSummaries/
bills_ls.asp?ls=c38&Parl=38&Ses=1.

15
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 28 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

activists, CAMFT reprinted the same summer magazine edition but without the

anti-same-sex marriage articles.10

After providing a review copy of my book, Out From Under, to the purchaser

for a large national chain local bookstore, and following up, the purchaser never

replied back. Yet, this local store had a whole section of pro-gay books and

positive essays from kids who grew up with a gay parent.

While researching a woman raised by a gay father, Abigail Garner, author of

the Families Like Mine: Children of Gay Parents Tell It Like It Is,11 she had

mentioned to an interviewer (who also interviewed me) that her book was edited to

not offend their parents and partners. It made me wonder how children of gay

parents can actually tell it like it is, if their words are censored?

If anything hurts the feelings of our GLBT parent(s) and their partners, does not

support same-sex marriage and parenting, it is often edited out of books, essays,

and same-sex parenting studies. There are incentives available to teens to stay

10
Psychotherapy Notes, CAMFT director apologies for articles opposing same-sex
marriage, in the summer issue of the Therapist, July 1, 2009,
http://mftprogress.blogspot.ca/2009/ 07/camft-director-apologies-for-articles.html.
11
http://familieslikemine.com/.
16
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 29 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

connected to the GLBT communities, such as scholarships if one has a GLBT

parent, is “out” as a teen, and or has performed a few years of political activism.12

A few years ago, the Tyra Banks Show contacted me, looking for a person who

was pro-gay and raised by a gay parent. When they found out my views, I was

disqualified as a potential guest. I have been censored in other print, radio and

television interviews.

In Washington, DC, I attended a multiple-day taping for a reality program, 30

Days (Same-sex Parenting, aired June 24, 2008), and most of my interview with

Morgan Spurlock was edited out, leaving less than 3 minutes of airing at the

beginning of the program with the rest of the program about 2 gay men raising 4

adopted boys and a woman who chose to live with them for 30 days, who opposed

same-sex parenting. And, yet, GLAAD was extremely upset and asked that 30

Days pull out all 3 minutes of the material questioning gay parenting.13

My voice has been censored numerous times in Canada. For example, after

speaking with two producers of two different television programs, they told me

12
Kathy Belge, About.com, Top 10 LGBT Scholarships - Top College
Scholarships for LGBT Students, http://lesbianlife.about.com/od/youth/
tp/Scholarships.htm.
13
Andy Towle, GLAAD Issues Call To Action Over FX Networks’ 30 Days,
Towleroad, June 25, 2008, http://www.towleroad.com/2008/06/glaad-issued-
a.html, and cast of 30 Days, Same-sex Parenting:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3066930/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t16.

17
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 30 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

that gay activists had complained to the Canadian Radio-television and

Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), similar to the Federal Communications

Commission (FCC), after my story had been aired on their television programs.

Due to the pressure from gay activists, CRTC’s investigations and threats of

removal of broadcasting licenses, and television stations’ fears of a hate crime

charge and/or a human rights commission fine, I was banned from being a guest,

even though I had shared my testimony gently. Even in Dublin, Ireland in 2008,

while on a major live radio broadcast, the host turned off my volume whenever he

didn’t like what I had to say.

I have been verbally attacked, called vulgar names through hate-filled e-mails,

such as the following: “You are incredibly wrong and promoting hate. You are a

homophobe!”; “You are full of *#&%!”; “…a new, despicably creative way to

spread hate …”; and “…homophobic bigots that cause more harm to society…”

And, hateful e-mails from adults like this, “I hope that your site is shut down on

the basis of anti-hate laws.” They’ve actually tried to institute laws in Canada

which would censor links to research about homosexuality or anything considered

politically incorrect. Hate crime law and Human Rights Commissions currently

18
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 31 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

censor truth about same-sex issues.14

Activists have also sent me e-mails threatening physical violence and death:

“Dawn is a homophobe”; “…prejudice you spout?”; “…die…”; “Your narrow-

minded views …”; “I find you cruel”; and “…kill you…” It is no wonder that I

fear for my own life and family. I have needed security and or police presence at

most of my speaking venues due to the unsafe atmosphere created by gay activists.

Again, I have spoken in-person throughout Canada, the United States, Mexico,

Paraguay and Ireland, and participated in world-wide media interviews, so that I

must be wary of threatening activists wherever I go.

I am not alone. An adult man, raised in a gay household, contacted me, asking

for help. He feared for his life while residing in an American gay neighborhood.

He wanted badly to get out of the business of providing raunchy gay porn websites

but knew his gay sex partners would turn on him and even kill him, if he dared

leave.

As children, we are not allowed to express our disagreement, pain and

confusion. Most adult children from gay households do not feel safe or free to

publicly express their stories and life-long challenges; they fear losing professional

licenses, not obtaining employment in their chosen field, being cut off from some
14
Dawn C. Stefanowicz, Pub. Hr’g of the Judiciary Committee on the Marriage
Amend., Apr. 11, 2006, Boston, Mass. http://www.voteonmarriage.
org/leghearing.shtml#dawn.

19
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 32 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

family members or losing whatever relationship they have with their gay parent(s).

Some gay parents have threatened to leave no inheritance, if the children don’t

accept their parent’s partner du jour.

Some adult children find it too painful to share their traumatic memories and

the associated overwhelming feelings.

The special-interest GLBT groups and so-called support groups for kids

sometimes act, or function, as fronts for a far darker side that silences, intimidates

and threatens the children who want to share the truth, allowing only a politically-

correct version of our childhoods to be heard. These special-interest groups support

political and legal objectives toward same-sex marriage, ignoring the horrendous

inequality, permanent losses and prejudice to children in the name of adult sexual

rights. Children lose forever their rights to know and be raised by their married

biological father and mother.

Marrying and having children are not fundamental human rights or “civil

rights” for everyone. There are necessary unique intrinsic values, responsibilities

and obligations in man-woman marriage which benefit children and society which

cannot be duplicated in other family structures.

The adult children I have heard from do not support the false notion of

“homophobia” – a word that is used to name-call and silence us.

20
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 33 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

We know first-hand the dangers to children of same-sex home environments.

Special-interest groups want legalized same-sex marriage and forced tolerance

while denying the physical, emotional and psychological harms to children. At the

same time, activists claim victim status while wielding totalitarian control, by legal

and legislative means, to silence speech, religious and or moral disapproval and

conscience rights. The special interest-groups attempt to tell decision makers and

the public that there is no harm to children, often by using dependent children,

teens and young adults who have not yet left the extraordinary bullying influences

of the GLBT environments.

V. POLITICAL CORRECTNESS & SCIENCE

Censorship exists within the social sciences, academia and governmental

institutions. Most often, politically incorrect research is not funded and articles are

not published in professional journals. Doctors Wright & Cummings, both leaders

in their field of psychology (past presidents of divisions in the American

Psychological Association) and admittedly advocates of a progressive social and

political agenda, state the following in their book, Destructive Trends in Mental

Health:15

15
Destructive Trends in Mental Health: The Well-Intentioned Path to Harm (NA
Cummings & RH Wright eds.), New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis
Group, 2005.
21
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 34 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

[A]dvocacy for scientific and professional concerns has been usurped


by agenda-driven ideologues who show little regard for either
scientific validation or professional efficacy. Although I am in
agreement with many of APA’s stances, I am opposed to the process
that has diminished its credibility. It is no longer perceived as an
authority that presents scientific evidence and professional facts. The
APA has chosen ideology over science, and thus has diminished its
influence on the decision makers in our society.

Id. at pp. xiv and 308.

Unfortunately, some legal bar associations have not passed students if they hold

to a politically incorrect view on same-sex marriage.16

VI. SAME-SEX PARENTING STUDIES

Some people think GLBT households look like heterosexual versions. The facts

are that the GLBT subcultures do not look at marriage in the same way.

A New York Times article provides a glimpse into why. Scott James wrote Many

Successful Gay Marriages Share an Open Secret (Jan. 28, 2010),17 expressing how

gay couples are open to sex outside their relationships, see id. In fact, research

shows that more than 50% of male same-sex relationships will have multiple

sexual partners within the first year.

16
Walter Olson, By reader acclaim: “Man Sues Over Gay Marriage Question On
Bar Exam”, July 7, 2007, http://overlawyered.com/2007/07/by-reader-acclaim-
man-sues-over-gay-marriage-question-on-bar-exam/.
17
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/us/29sfmetro.html?_r=2.

22
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 35 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

Marriage has always been considered a traditional, man-woman institution

which upholds monogamy for the benefit of children and society. The GLBT

subcultures have a much broader understanding of sexual relationships without

restrictive boundaries regarding number of sexual partners, various sexualities,

gender identities, roles and expressions.

Many social science studies show that children raised in man-woman married

households have better outcomes than children who are raised in step-parented and

single-parented households. And when you review same-sex parenting studies, you

find they are replete with methodological flaws, small sample sizes, research bias,

participant bias and funding bias. No same-sex parenting studies fit all these

criteria: random, population-based, nationally representative and longitudinal,

following children over a twenty-five year period.

Adult participants are selected through advertisements in GLBT newspapers,

online and through support groups. Most of the same-sex parenting studies involve

e-mailed self-reports by mothers (not the children), comparing single “lesbian”

women with single “heterosexual” women without considering the implications of

the presence or absence of fathers.

In selection of the participants, often more-educated and financially-successful

“lesbians” are recruited for the studies while less consideration is given to the often

23
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 36 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

poorer heterosexual single mothers. There are cases where the same participants

are used in different studies. Often, the conclusions of these studies are politically

correct, to improve opportunities for custody cases while the conclusions do not

match the observations found.

Where children are asked questions, the questions are usually vague; the

dependent children are often critical of the parent and their living arrangements;

however, the dependent child minimizes his pain so as to not offend the parent.

Interestingly enough, being “gay” or “lesbian” is based on self-reports of

participants. These reports do not consider the fact that most men and women who

say they are gay or lesbian have had and will have heterosexual sexual contact,

according to Laumann, et al.18

Dr. Steven Nock, research methodologist, at the request of the Attorney General

of Canada, submitted an affidavit opposed to same-sex marriage in the Halpern v.

AG case in 2000 in which he reported over 200 same-sex parenting studies

which “contained at least one fatal flaw of design or execution and not a single one

of those studies was conducted according to general accepted standards of

18
Nat’l Health and Soc. Life Survey (1994), in E. O. Laumann, et al., The Social
Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States, Chicago
(University of Chicago Press, pp. 294-296); Nigel Dickson, C. Paul, P. Herbison,
Same-sex attraction in a birth cohort: prevalence and persistence in early
adulthood, 56 Soc. Sci. & Med. 56 1607-1615 (2002).
24
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 37 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

scientific research.”19

When clinical psychologists Dr. Mark Lerner and Dr. Althea Nagai reviewed 49

same-sex parenting studies, all were found unreliable and the sample sizes too

small for relevance.20

When Sharon Quick, M.D., a pediatric anesthesiologist, and pediatric critical

care physician and former assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology

at the University of Washington School of Medicine, reviewed 63 same-sex

parenting studies, she found major design flaws, interpretive errors and

unsupported conclusions. The studies’ conclusions, which stated that there were no

differences between the outcomes of “homosexual” and “heterosexual” parents,

often contradicted the findings and comments, raising concerns about the well-

being of children with parents with same-sex attraction and behavior. Further

details can be found in Dr. Quick’s expert testimony re Iowa’s Defense of

Marriage Act.21

19
Nock Aff. ¶ 3, Halpern v. Att’y Gen. of Canada, No. 684/00 (Ont. Sup. Ct. of
Justice).
20
NARTH, Book Review of Robert Lerner, Ph.D. and Nagia, Althea, Ph.D., No
Basis: What the studies don’t tell us about same-sex parenting. Marriage Law
Project, Washington D.C., Jan. 2001, http://www.narth.org/docs/lernernagai.html.
21
Amended Decl. of Sharon Quick, M.D., expert witness in the Iowa District Court
For Polk County, familywatchinternational.org/fwi/Quickexpertwitnessstatement.
pdf.
25
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 38 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

Sharon Quick, M.D.’s rebuttal Replication of Quotation Errors 22 reveals that

the flawed July 2006 Special Report The Effects of Marriage, Civil Union, and

Domestic Partnership Laws on the Health and Well-being of Children, addressing

psychosocial characteristics of same-sex parenting, has large portions copied

directly from the 2002 Technical Report,23 a Technical Report which has 57% of

its quotations incorrectly referenced. Yet, special interest groups have used this

July 2006 Special Report to win same-sex civil partnerships, marriage, and

adoption in both legislative and court decisions in North America and around the

world.

The American College of Pediatricians strongly disagrees with this Special

Report and wrote a letter to the Editor of the AAP, expressing its opposition to

civil partnerships and same-sex marriage “because of its absence of evidence-

based research and potential negative consequences on children.”24

22
http://www.acpeds.org/the-college-speaks/for-policy-makers/marriage-rights-
for-homosexual-couples-not-the-best-for-children.
23
Ellen C. Perrin, American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Psychosocial
Aspects of Child and Family Health. Coparent or second-parent adoption by same-
sex parents. 109 Pediatrics 339–340 (2002), available at http://pediatrics.
aappublications.org/content/109/2/341.full.
24
Marriage Rights for Homosexual Couples: Not Best for Children
Critique of AAP Special Report - Den A. Trumbull, MD., Joseph R. Zanga, MD,
FAAP, Leah M. Willson, MD, FAAP, Vicki Tucci, Esq., Letter to the Editor: The
Effects of Marriage, Civil Union, and Domestic Partnership Laws on the Health
and Well-being of Children: In Reply http://www.acpeds.org/the-college-
26
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 39 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

A recent study by Loren Marks of Louisiana State University, analyzed the 59

same-sex parenting studies cited in the American Psychological Association (APA)

2005 policy paper. None of the studies which were cited in the APA’s publication

were based on random, population-based samples of lesbian and gay parents

compared with random, population-based samples of intact biological married

parents and their children. In fact, only 4 of the 59 studies met the APA's standard

of “providing evidence of statistical power.”25

Popenoe and Wallerstein confirm the importance of fatherhood and stable

marriages. 26

Mark Regnerus’ peer-reviewed article, How Different Are the Adult Children of

Parents Who Have Same-Sex Relationships? Findings from the New Family

Structures Study, compares eight different kinds of family structure (from an

original population of 15,000 adult children), including those in which a child was

raised by a parent who had had a same-sex romantic relationship. Regnerus finds

speaks/for-policy-makers/marriage-rights-for-homosexual-couples-not-the-best-
for-children.
25
Loren Marks, Louisiana State University, Same-sex parenting and children’s
outcomes: A closer examination of the American Psychological Association’s brief
on lesbian and gay parenting, Soc. Sci. Res. 41 (2012) 735-751.
26
David Popenoe, Life Without Fathers: Compelling Evidence that Fatherhood
and Marriage Are Indispensible for the Good of Children144, 146 (Cambridge:
Harv. Univ. Press, 1996); Judith Wallerstein, et al., The Unexpected Legacy of
Divorce: A 25 Year Landmark Study (New York: Hyperion, 2000).

27
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 40 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

that the “intact biological family” (IBF), headed by a man and woman married to

each other throughout the raising of their own children, is indeed the “most secure

environment for child development.”

Children raised by a parent who had been involved with someone of the same

sex are, to a significant degree, more likely to record, in their own estimation in

interviews, a variety of negative outcomes related to their upbringing, i.e.

depression, suicidal ideation, feelings of being unsafe, need for therapy, greater

risk of sexual abuse and or forced sexual acts against their will, higher risk of

homosexuality, bisexuality, or asexuality, higher risk of thinking their current

relationship was in trouble, higher risk of infidelity while cohabiting or married,

lower levels of educational and employment achievement, higher levels of public

assistance, and higher incidence of criminal conduct, among other negative

outcomes.

On 25 out of 40 outcomes evaluated by Regnerus, children of lesbian mothers

(LMs) fared suboptimally compared to children of IBFs. On 11 out of 40

outcomes, children of gay fathers (GFs) fared suboptimally compared to children

28
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 41 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

of IBFs. Note that only 1 in every 17 children of “gay” parents actually lives with a

same-sex couple.27

Finally, the Canadian census supports the social science that finds that children

do best when they are raised by their married, biological mother and father.28

CONCLUSION

I ask that the Court support that marriage needs to remain a societal foundation

that constitutes, represents, and defends the inherently procreative relationship

between the husband and the wife for the welfare of their biological children and

society. Thus, I respectfully ask the Court to reverse the judgment of the court

below; and humbly thank the Court for its time and consideration.

August 4, 2014 Respectfully submitted,

s/David Boyle
P.O. Box 15143
Long Beach, CA 90815
(734) 904-6132
[email protected]
Counsel for Amicus Curiae Dawn Stefanowicz

27
Mark Regnerus, How Different Are the Adult Children of Parents Who Have
Same-Sex Relationships? Findings from the New Family Structures Study, 41 Soc.
Sci. Res. 752–770 (July 2012), available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/
science/article/pii/S0049089X12000610.
28
Mark Regnerus, A Married Mom and Dad Really Do Matter: New Evidence
from Canada, The Witherspoon Inst., Oct. 2013, http://www.thepublicdiscourse.
com/2013/10/10996/.

29
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 42 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

The undersigned certifies that he electronically filed the foregoing with the

Clerk of the Court for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit by

using the appellate CM/ECF system on August 4, 2014.

He also certifies that all parties or their counsel of record will be served through

the CM/ECF system if they are registered CM/ECF users:

Jonathan F. Mitchell
Kyle D. Highful
Beth Klusmann
Michael P. Murphy
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
P.O. Box 12548 (MC 059)
Austin, Texas 78711-2548
(512) 936-1700

Barry Alan Chasnoff


Daniel McNeel Lane, Jr.
Matthew Edwin Pepping
AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD, LLP
300 Convent Street, Suite 1600
NationsBank Plaza
San Antonio, TX 78205
Jessica M. Weisel
AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD, LLP
2029 Century Park, E., Suite 2400
Los Angeles, CA 90067-0000
Michael P. Cooley
Andrew Forest Newman
AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD, LLP

30
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 43 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

1700 Pacific Avenue, Suite 4100


Dallas, TX 75204
August 4, 2014 Respectfully submitted,

s/David Boyle
P.O. Box 15143
Long Beach, CA 90815
(734) 904-6132
[email protected]
Counsel for Amicus Curiae Dawn Stefanowicz

CERTIFICATE OF ELECTRONIC COMPLIANCE

The undersigned also certifies that on August 4, 2014, this brief was transmitted

to Mr. Lyle W. Cayce, Clerk of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth

Circuit, via the court’s CM/ECF document filing system, https://ecf.ca5.uscourts.

gov/.

The undersigned further certifies that: (1) required privacy redactions have been

made, 5th Cir. R. 25.2.13, if any in fact were needed; (2) the electronic submission

is an exact copy of the paper document, 5th Cir. R. 25.2.1; and (3) the document

has been scanned with the most recent version of McAfee Anti-Virus and Anti-

Spyware 16.8 and as per that program is free of viruses.

s/David Boyle

31
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 44 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

FORM 6. CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH RULE 32(a)

Certificate of Compliance with Type-Volume Limitation,


Typeface Requirements, and Type Style Requirements

1. This brief complies with the type-volume limitation of FED. R. APP. P.

32(a)(7)(B) because:

X this brief contains 6073words, excluding the parts of the brief exempted by

FED. R. APP. P. 32(a)(7)(B)(iii), or

□ this brief uses a monospaced typeface and contains [state the number of] lines

of text, excluding the parts of the brief exempted by FED. R. APP. P.

32(a)(7)(B)(iii).

2. This brief complies with the typeface requirements of FED. R. APP. P. 32(a)(5)

and the type style requirements of FED. R. APP. P. 32(a)(6) because:

X this brief has been prepared in a proportionally spaced typeface using 2010

Microsoft Word in 14-point Times New Roman font, or

□ this brief has been prepared in a monospaced typeface using [state name and

version of word processing program] with [state number of characters per inch and

name of type style].

s/David Boyle
32
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768378
00512728662 Page: 45 Date Filed: 09/15/2014
08/11/2014

Attorney for Amicus Curiae Dawn Stefanowicz

Dated: August 4, 2014

Thank you for your time.

33
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768379 Page: 1 Date Filed: 09/15/2014

United States Court of Appeals


FIFTH CIRCUIT
OFFICE OF THE CLERK
LYLE W. CAYCE TEL. 504-310-7700
CLERK 600 S. MAESTRI PLACE
NEW ORLEANS, LA 70130

September 15, 2014

Mr. David Christopher Boyle


P.O. Box 15143
Long Beach, CA 90815

No. 14-50196 Cleopatra DeLeon, et al v. Rick Perry, et al


USDC No. 5:13-CV-982

Dear Mr. Boyle,


You must submit the seven (7) paper copies of your brief required
by 5TH CIR. R. 31.1 within five (5) days of the date of this notice
pursuant to 5th Cir. ECF Filing Standard E.1.
Failure to timely provide the appropriate number of copies may
result in the dismissal of your appeal pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 42.3.
**You must electronically file a "Form for Appearance of Counsel"
within 14 days from this date. You must name each party you
represent, see FED R. APP. P. 12(b) and 5TH CIR. R. 12 & 46.3. The
form is available from the Fifth Circuit's website,
www.ca5.uscourts.gov. If you fail to electronically file the form,
the brief will be stricken and returned unfiled.

Sincerely,
LYLE W. CAYCE, Clerk

By: _________________________
Renee S. McDonough, Deputy Clerk
504-310-7673
cc:
Mr. Ralph Joseph Aucoin Sr.
Mr. Richard Arthur Bordelon
Mr. Barry Alan Chasnoff
Mr. Michael P. Cooley
Ms. Deborah Jane Dewart
Mr. Stuart Kyle Duncan
Mr. William C. Duncan
Mr. Thomas Molnar Fisher
Case: 14-50196 Document: 00512768379 Page: 2 Date Filed: 09/15/2014

Mr. Steven W. Fitschen


Mr. Steven James Griffin
Mr. Robert Smead Hogan
Mr. Lawrence John Joseph
Mr. Jon Roy Ker
Ms. Beth Ellen Klusmann
Mr. Daniel McNeel Lane Jr.
Ms. Mary Elizabeth McAlister
Mr. Jonathan F. Mitchell
Mr. Michael P. Murphy
Mr. Andrew Forest Newman
Mr. David Robert Nimocks
Mr. Leif A. Olson
Mr. Matthew Edwin Pepping
Mr. Eric C. Rassbach
Mr. David Robinson
Mr. Dean John Sauer
Mr. Michael Francis Smith
Mr. Kevin Trent Snider
Ms. Anita Leigh Staver
Mr. Mathew D. Staver
Dr. David Robert Upham
Ms. Jessica M. Weisel
Mr. Robert Paul Wilson
Mr. Russell Henry Withers
Ms. Cecilia M. Wood

You might also like