Psychoanalysts Censure California's Vote to Ban Same-Se...( NEW YORK Nov. 6 -- The American ...),Health

NEW YORK, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA) denounces the election results in California that supported Proposition 8, a ballot measure that bans same-sex marriage in the state. In keeping with its overall support of social justice, APsaA issued a position statement earlier this year supporting the legal recognition of same-sex civil marriage while opposing discrimination against same-sex couples. For the full text of the APsaA Marriage Resolution, please visit: http://www.apsa.org/ABOUTAPSAA/POSITIONSTATEMENTS/MARRIAGERESOLUTION/tabid/ 470/Default.aspx.

APsaA President-elect and Pasadena, CA resident Warren Procci, M.D. remarks: "These ballot propositions such as California's Proposition 8, deny to gay individuals the rights to freedom of choice of partner in marriage as well as access to equal protection which is granted to all of us by our constitution. These denials are based solely on an individual's sexual orientation."

"We want people to think about the broad impact the denial of same-sex marriage has on Americans today," says psychoanalyst Ethan Grumbach, Ph.D., a Los Angeles resident and chair of APsaA's Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues. "Families exist in many different ways and it is important for same-sex couples to have legal and societal recognition of their unions for themselves, their children, and their extended families. Research continues to demonstrate the stigmatization and discrimination to which same sex couples and families are subjected is traumatizing and damaging to their health."

APsaA's Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues has reviewed extensive research on homosexual relationships and gay and lesbian parents and their children prior to issuing its Same-Sex Marriage Resolution. Some relevant statistics and researc
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