From: Olli Stalstrom <stalstro@seta.fi>
Subject: DOUBLE VICTORY IN COLORADO
Date: Tue, 21 May 1996 00:31:33 +0300 (EET DST)


Helsinki, May 20, 1996

From: Olli Stalstrom, Finnish Organisation for Sexual Equality (SETA)

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down today Colorado's anti-gay Amendment 2.
This legal victory also marks an important psychiatric victory in the
fight against psychoanalytical labelling. The notorious psychoanalyst
Charles Socarides, who has labelled gays and lesbians sick, disturbed,
dangerous, unreliable and incapable of love relationships in the name of
the American Psychoanalytic Association since 1958, has given an
affidavit supporting the Colorado anti-gay Amendment 2.

In his affidavit Socarides had quoted old statements of the American
Psychoanalytic Association on homosexuality from 1983 in spite of the fact
that the organisation has changed its official views and issued a
statement on May 9, 1991 opposing discrimination in the admission of
openly gay and lesbian people to its affiliated institutes.

This gave the American Psychoanalytic Association the reason it had been
waiting for a long time to disassociate itself from Socarides, who has
been giving psychoanalysis a bad reputation for decades. The American
Psychoanalytic Association sent the following letter through its attorney on
April 11, 1996 to Charles Socarides:

"Dear Dr. Socarides:

	The American Psychoanalytic Association (American) has asked me to
contact you about statements in the affidavit you submitted in connection
with litigation in Colorado regarding the constitutionality of Amendment
2. This affidavit, or portions of it, has also apparently been introduced
in other fora. As indicated in earlier correspondence with you, this firm
serves as general counsel to the American.

----

 	I am writing at the present time on behalf of the American to ask
tha you immediately cease all misrepresentation of the American's current
position regarding homosexuality. Such misrepresentation is actionable.
It confuses and misleads those who may not be well enough informed to
know better. You state as a fact that the American's position is other
than it is. You ascribe to the American a position that will harm its
reputation by subjecting it to contempt and ridicule, that may interfere
with its ability to attract and keep members and that may impair its
ability to raise funds. Such misrepresentation of the official position
of the American and, by extention, its membership may deter potential
patients from seeking psychoanalytic treatment, discourage mental health
professionals from referring patients to members of the American,
and stop other professionals from pursuing pursuing psychoanalytic
training in accredited institutes.
	
	Moreover, the American believes there is ample evidence from your
activities that you understood that your statements were false, i.e. that
you deliberately misrepresented the American's position in order to
advance your own agenda. No more is needed to sustain legal action.

	The American is not eager to initiate litigation about this
matter. But it will not permit misrepresentations that are harmful to it,
its reputation and its membership. If these misrepresenations continue,
the American may be forced to act to protect itself and its members."

				***


This letter from the lawyers of the American Psychoanalytic Association
to Charles Socarides will be published in the summer issue of The American
Psychoanalyst.