U.S. Government Study: Majority Of Abused Children Maltreated By Their Biological Parents — Not By Same-Sex Couples
In his weekly blog, National Organization For Marriage Executive Director Brian Brown, obviously smarting from his side’s embarrassing performance in the Perry vs. Schwarzenegger federal Prop 8 trial, decided to cross a line no one should ever even think of crossing. A line that the Perry trial demonstrated over and over again the right has crossed for decades: the false statement that gays are child abusers.
Brian Brown, I hereby call you out on this disgusting lie. Fortunately, I trust the intelligence of Americans enough to know they know a charlatan when they read his words.
Here’s the link to Brian’s blog. Read it for yourself. And read between the lines. Read how Brian talks about “how family structure affects child abuse.” See how he introduces the idea of child abuse and then says,
“What family form best protects children from one of the worst harms of all–child abuse? The answer is: the child’s own mom and dad united by marriage.”
Nice job there, Brian. (By the way, Brian, you got the name of the study wrong. I know because I read it. It’s “The Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-4)” But hey, no one’s perfect.)
Notice, too that Brian doesn’t provide his followers with a link to the government’s study — afraid they’ll read it and realize he’s not telling them the whole truth.
Most importantly, let me say this: Shame on you, Brian!
Not only do you trumpet your thinly-veiled hatred against gay and lesbian parents, you raise your sword on hard-working single parents and cohabiting unmarried parents. What you do NOT bother to address is the very sad fact that so many American children are abused and neglected! Rather than use your vast resources to say to your followers, “We must do a better job, for the sake of our children,” (much less, “here’s how,”) you say, “Look, gay parents are bad, they are child abusers!” Obviously, you don’t care about the children. You merely twist their plight into a fund-raising letter.
Your hatred of the LGBTQ community has blinded you to the real problem: everyday, children are being abused and neglected. And your hatred of the LGBTQ community has blinded you to the reality of that problem: it is these abused and neglected children’s biological parents who are doing the vast majority of the abusing and neglecting.
Yes, that’s right, Brian. You left that part out of your weekly fund-raising blog. Because telling your followers that they are the ones more likely to abuse and neglect their own children doesn’t rake in the cash, does it?
Well, Brian, let’s look at the real facts from the very government study you cite. The study looks at maltreatment with two different standards. Under the more stringent standard, it found that one in every 58 children in the United States is physically and/or emotionally abused and/or neglected. That’s about 1.7% of all children in the U.S., or, according to the study, “an estimated 1,256,600 children.” Under the less-stringent standard, that number jumps to almost three million children.
Three million children, Brian. Where is your outrage?
Under the more stringent and detailed standard, the study found:
- “The majority of all [abused or neglected] children … were maltreated by their biological parents.” In fact, the study says that “92% were neglected by biological parents” and “64% were abused by biological parents.”
- “Biological parents were the most closely related perpetrators for 71% of physically abused children and for 73% of emotionally abused children.”
Bottom line: Of children who are “maltreated” — abused and/or neglected, it is those children’s own biological parents who are the perpetrators.
The study also stated there was a 26% decline in the rate of maltreated children — children who were physically and/or emotionally abused and/or neglected. Just as we have seen the rate of divorce decrease in states when same-sex couples are granted the right to legally marry, one has to wonder if the vast increase in same-sex couples raising children has something to do with that 26% decline in the rate of maltreated children?
What is also significant is that nowhere does the study mention same-sex married couples. Nowhere. Nor does it draw any conclusion about same-sex married couples. It also does not have a category for same-sex married or “civil-unioned” couples. Nor does it have a category or make any mention of homosexual unmarried couples, nor draw any distinction between same-sex and opposite-sex unmarried couples.
In short, Brian, your argument doesn’t hold water.
In no way, shape, or form does the study suggest same-sex married or un-married couples are child abusers or pose any increased threat to children. Yet you see fit to continue those disgusting lies.
Who is the real villain here, Brian? Gay and lesbian couples who have to fight tooth and nail, and invest countless thousands of dollars to adopt, so they can give children a good home, or some over-paid “executive” who makes his living by spewing hatred, fear, and lies — and all under the guise of “religion?”
Brian, we are watching your words. Every one of them. And you can expect, certainly from me, to be confronted with the truth –Â and called out, publicly — whenever you dare to cross that line.