Mark Regnerus, Author of Discredited Anti-LGBT Study, Testifies in Federal Court
It鈥檚 been a busy couple of days for University of Texas at Austin sociology professor Mark Regnerus, whose methodologically flawed and study has provided ammunition for anti-LGBT groups and policies since its 2012 publication 聽in the United States and around the world. The study even appeared on used by a Polish group with neo-Nazi ties.
Yesterday he for three hours as an 鈥渆xpert witness鈥� for the state of Michigan in the court proceedings of a lesbian couple who against a state law that prevents them from adopting each other鈥檚 children. They鈥檝e also taken on the state鈥檚 ban on marriage equality, which was approved by voters as a constitutional amendment in 2004.
The linked to by Tresa Baldas, a staff writer for the Detroit Free Press, who noted that Regnerus admitted that he is 鈥渘ot a fan鈥� of same-sex marriage and that adoption and foster-parenting are 鈥渘ot the ideal鈥� and that he is 鈥渘ot a fan鈥� of in vitro fertilization because in his view, it 鈥渞educes kinship.鈥� Baldas also tweeted that Regnerus denied creating the study to derail same-sex marriage but said that a group that funded it wanted to use it before the Supreme Court.
Regnerus, who previously , will be cross-examined today.
Meanwhile, Regnerus鈥� own department chair at the University of Texas-Austin , as the , distancing the department from him and his research, stating that 鈥淒r. Regnerus鈥� opinions are his own. They do not reflect the views of the Sociology Department of the University of Texas at Austin.鈥� Nor, the statement goes on to say, do Regnerus鈥� research and views reflect the views of the American Sociological Association, 鈥渨hich takes the position that the conclusions he draws from his study of gay parenting are fundamentally flawed on conceptual and methodological grounds and that findings from Dr. Regnerus鈥� work have been cited inappropriately in efforts to diminish the civil rights and legitimacy of LBGTQ partners and their families.鈥�
The statement further noted that the department has no ties to the (AI) 鈥� Regnerus鈥� latest affiliation (he鈥檚 a senior fellow) 鈥� which is a conservative think tank a few blocks from his campus office. The Austin Chronicle鈥檚 Brandon Watson has been covering the institute (see and ), which is being hailed in some circles as 鈥淲itherspoon Institute South,鈥� a reference to the New Jersey-based , which provided nearly $700,000 in funding to Regnerus for his discredited study.
The University of Texas at Austin鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts about Regnerus, saying that his views are his own and do not reflect the views of the university.
When he鈥檚 not being called upon for anti-LGBT testimony in court, Regnerus is researching topics like (hint: masturbation is bad) and addressing audiences, such as at the , where he in November that same-sex marriage and the 鈥渘ormalization of gay men鈥檚 sexual behavior鈥� will cause straight men to 鈥渟tray鈥� and more heterosexuals to have anal sex. Perhaps he鈥檒l bring that up on the stand today. Stay tuned.
