Scientist Robert Spitzer’s recent retraction of a study that suggests so-called ex-gay therapy can be effective may be a gateway to striking down Proposition 8 in court, says New York University legal scholar Kenji Yoshino.
Spitzer wrote a letter to Ken Zucker, editor of the Archives of Sexual Behavior, the journal that published his 2001 study claiming that “highly motivated” gays and lesbians could reverse their sexual orientation. Spitzer’s letter also apologizes to LGBT people for “making unproven claims of the efficacy of reparative therapy,” he wrote.”I also apologize to any gay person who wasted time and energy undergoing some form of reparative therapy because they believed that I had proven that reparative therapy works with some ‘highly motivated’ individuals.”
Spitzer’s realization went public after journalist Gabriel Arana’s report in TheAmerican Prospect related to his own experience with “ex-gay” therapy, in which he spoke with Spitzer. The researcher said he requested a retraction in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, but the editor had declined to run it.
Find more articles and gay wedding resources.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook. We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
