Orlando – A federal judge has ordered that the University of Central Florida (UCF) turn over documents related to the publication of a widely-criticized study that suggests children of straight parents are better off than children raised by gay parents.
The 2012 New Family Structures Study, conducted by University of Texas associate professor Mark Regnerus, was published in the June 2012 Social Science Research Journal (SSRJ). UCF professor of sociology James Wright is the editor-in-chief of SSRJ.
John Becker, managing editor of the popular LGBT website The Bilerico Project, requested a broad number of documents related to publication of the study, including emails sent and received in relation to the study’s publication, under the Freedom of Information Act.
In his Nov. 13 opinion, Orange County Circuit Judge Donald Grincewicz ruled that the emails and documents must be turned over to Becker.
According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Regnerus’ study did not control for error, and the straight households were made up of heterosexual parents in committed, long-term relationships while the study’s gay households were not made up of same-sex parents in comparable relationships. Becker is represented by the Law Office of Andrea Flynn Mogensen, P.A., and Barrett, Chapman & Ruta, P.A, funded by the HRC.
“There has always been a dark cloud over the Regnerus study, yet this debunked study is now being touted by anti-LGBT organizations around the country and around the globe,” said Ellen Kahn, M.S.S, of the Human Rights Campaign. “Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and the public has a right to know how junk science gets published in a scholarly journal.”
The study is dangerous because it is sited as fact when important decisions about LGBT rights are made. According to the HRC, Regnerus’ research was cited by opponents of a marriage equality bill that was eventually signed into law, and in Russia, it has been used to justify recent, extreme anti-gay rules.
On The Bilerico Project, Becker said he’s testifying at a hearing related to his lawsuit.
“The light is at the end of the tunnel, folks,” he said. “I hope that soon, UCF’s stonewalling will end, we’ll be able to access these public records, and we’ll finally uncover the full truth behind the discredited Regnerus study for ourselves.”
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