Subject: DAY 8 - THE TRIAL - GCNEWS
From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 20 Sep 1996 12:44:33 -0400

GCNews 9-19-96

THE TRIAL
COVERAGE DAILY OF THE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE TRIAL IN HONOLULU BY GCNEWS AND GLEA
FOUNDATION 

The lawsuit’s creator and GLEA Foundation’s Executive Director, William Woods
will provide a rap-up report on KHVH Radio 830 AM at 6:30 AM Friday.  This
report will be the last in a series tht began on the second day of the trial.
 It will report on the previous day’s events and issues.  The report will
include Debi Hartman, spokesperson for Hawaii’s Future Today, an
anti-same-sex marriage organi-zation.

DAY EIGHT:

   Day EIGHT was the fourth and last day of the plaintiff’s portion of the
trial.  Closing arguments will take place on Friday.  Each side will be given
30 minutes in which to make their closing ar-guments.
   Today’s witness was Dr. Robert Bidwell (MD), associate professor of the
University of Hawaii’s John Burns School of Medicine, Director of Adolscent
Medicine at Kapiolani’s Medical Center for Women and Children, Medical
Director of the Sex Abuse Treatment Center of that hospital.
    Dr. Bidwell is a pediatrician who teaches and provides direct services
through the hospital pro-grams and as a consultant with a number of community
organizations.  He has seen between 15 and 20,000 families since 1981.  His
current caseload is now about 80% adolesents and 20% ll other pediactric
patients.  He facilitates a Gay and Lesbian Teen Support Group.
     Hundreds of Bidwell’s patients were children of single or Gay couple
parents. About 40-50 were from same-sex couples, the most being from Lesbian
couples.  Statements that were stated or agreed upon:
1.  Do Gay and Lesbian parents provide successful parenting?  “Yes”
2.  Do same-sex couples provide successful parenting?  “Yes”
3.  Do same-sex couples do as well as heterosexual couples?  “Yes”
4.  Do same-sex couples do as well as adoptive parents?  “Yes”
5.  Do same sex couples do as well as biological parents?  “Yes”
6. Do children of same-sex couples experience any different kind of problems
that children in bio households do not? “Yes. There seems to be increased
distress when entering teenage years”  
7.  “Only a phase.”  He had not known any teenager who had not gone through
it and do well.
8.  “Most do not have a rough time and make accommodations well.”
9.  When asked the infamous “All things being equal are bio parents the
optimal for raising chil-dren? He answered, “no.”
10.  It’s is love, nurturing, guidance and protection the factor, not bound
by biology.”
11.  The depth of love of same-sex couples is just as deep as that of bio
parents.
12.  The states position is “demeaning to love.”
13.  “Marriage provides a family a certain stability over non-marriage,
although there are excep-tions to that. To the couple and to the children.
 Marriage helps to validate the relationship of the child with the family and
the world.”
14.  Is there any reason to conclude children of same-sex couples could
benefit if parents were legally married? “Yes”

   GCNews has produced daily reports of the trial.   Our reporter has been in
the courtroom from the first gavel.  If you have missed a day of the report,
please contact us at [email-masked] and we will send a copy of that day’s
report directly to you.
  Should you have questions please direct them to GCNews at: EMAIL:
[email-masked] or call us at (808) 532-9000.
   Electronic GayCommunity News will be generated periodically after the end
of the trial.  If you wish to be on the mail list for future GCNews, want to
submit articles for it, etc. please contact us at [email-masked]