This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Ana Samuel's op-ed, "Study cited by LDS apostle is sound science" (Opinion, Oct. 28), provides one interpretation of the much-publicized study by Mark Regnerus on same-sex parenting.
Here is a better interpretation: Offspring raised by same-sex parents have more problems as adults because they experience less stable home lives, not because their parents are gay or lesbian.
Does this come as any surprise, in a country where most same-sex parents do not enjoy the right to marry the mother or father of their children?
Indeed, the Regnerus study can be viewed as evidence in favor of marriage equality.
That way, more children would enjoy the kind of stable families that social scientists, myself included, have repeatedly demonstrated are better for children.
Regnerus himself makes this point in an article published in Slate on June 11, 2012.
Nicholas H. Wolfinger
Salt Lake City