Historically, there have been three major concerns regarding custody litigation and public policies governing foster care and adoption by lesbian and gay parents. One is that lesbians and gay men are mentally ill, two is that lesbians are less maternal than heterosexual women, and three that lesbians' and gay men's relationship with sexual partners interfere with parent-child interactions (Patterson 2007). However, there is no empirical evidence that any of these assertions are true.
             Research suggests that lesbian and gay parents divide household and family labor relatively evenly and that they report satisfaction with their couple relationships (Patterson 2007). Moreover, some studies indicate that lesbian mothers' and gay fathers' parenting skills may be superior to those of heterosexual couples, because few use any type of physical punishment for discipline, but rather use positive techniques such as reasoning (Patterson 2007). Both gay and lesbian parents were found to be just as likely to provide supportive home environments for children as heterosexual parents (Patterson 2007). Moreover, studies found no evidence of gender identity difficulties among children of lesbian mothers, nor any differences between toy preferences, activities, interests or occupational choices (Patterson 2007).
             Studies found that no children of lesbian mothers identified themselves as lesbian or gay, while another study of adult sons of gay fathers were found 90 percent of the sons to be heterosexual (Patterson 2007). According to research, "children of lesbian and gay parents have positive relationships with peers and their relationships with adults of both sexes are satisfactory" (Patterson 2007). In fact, no study has found that children of lesbian or gay parents are disadvantaged in any respect relative to children of heterosexual parents, and that both gay and lesbian parents are just as likely to provide ...