American Foundation for Equal Rights

NY Times: Same-Sex Marriage Case, Day 9: Research

With testimony in the Perry v. Schwarzenegger trial expected to end by the middle of next week, the discussion Friday centered again on the question of whether sexuality is an innate trait or something that can change, and possibly be controlled. On Friday, lawyers for those who seek to overturn Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage in the state, called as their final witness Gregory M. Herek, a research psychologist at the University of California, Davis.

In a recent survey he conducted, 88 percent of gay men and 68 percent of lesbians said they felt they had no choice about their sexual orientation, Dr. Herek said. For the vast majority of lesbians, gay men and bisexuals, he said, “they have experienced no choice or very little choice.”

Read the rest of Garry Shih’s NY Times article here.