UTAH: Plaintiffs File Opposing SCOTUS Brief To State's Marriage Stay Demand

The plaintiffs in Utah's marriage equality case met the 5pm today deadline set by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and filed their opposition to the emergency marriage stay demand made by Gov. Gary Herbert. The brief cites the Windsor case (of course) and also mentions an article by the Salt Lake Tribune which recounts the over 1200 same-sex marriages that have already taken place.

But the best part of the brief is where they cite the debunking of the Regnerus study, which featured prominently in the state's demand. An excerpt:

The bulk of the research on which Applicants rely is outdated, and the current studies they cite by Mark D. Regnerus, Appl. at 15-17, have been wholly discredited by the scientific community, including the journal which published them. Tom Bartlett, Controversial Gay-Parenting Study is Severely Flawed, Journal’s Audit Finds, Chron. Of Higher Educ., July 26, 2012. Applicants’ citation to the study by Kristin A. Moore, App l. at 15, is equally misplaced because the authors added an introductory note to their study explicitly warning that no conclusions can be drawn from this research about the well-being of children raised by same-sex or adoptive parents. Kristin A. Moore, Marriage from a Child’s Perspective: How Does Family Structure Affect Children, and What Can We Do About It, Child Trends (2002).

Dig into the full brief at the link. (Via Equality Case Files)