Robert-Jay Green, executive director of Rockway Institute, a new national public policy think tank, recently spoke at The Center describing the institute’s efforts to positively affect public opinion about the GLBT community and to conduct ground-breaking research that is directly relevant to key public policy objectives.

Green’s presentation, “Antigay Groups and the Road to LGBT Equality,” highlighted various ways that GLBT citizens and their allies can engage in “everyday acts of advocacy” to make a difference in societal perceptions of the GLBT community.

Changes in public opinion lead to policy changes, Green said. “Activists start the ball rolling, then through media exposure … individuals, and society’s emotional attitudes about issues start to become affected.

“Public policy changes rarely come from legislators. Legislators are following the public opinion polls; they are not leading the public opinion polls. And they are doing so, so that they can please their constituents and be re-elected,” he said, explaining that it takes activists to affect these opinions and polls and to encourage their legislators. “Every new piece of legislation relies heavily on research to provide the rationale for new laws,” he said.

Rockway Institute, which formed in 2005 and is affiliated with the California School of Professional Psychology in San Francisco, aims to convey accurate, scientific and professional information about GLBT issues to the media, lawmakers and the courts. The institute, which is the first of its kind nationally, also conducts original research applicable to GLBT public policy in the areas of couple and family relations, mental health, education, social services, medical care and the workplace.

Green said there are specific policy areas that GLBT activists need to prioritize, beginning with same-sex marriage and its implications for spousal health care, immigration policy, social security benefits for surviving spouses and inheritance.

“So many things are linked to marriage that it is the key point in policy change, and people can begin to affect change by starting to talk with those they are closest to about how the issues affect them,” Green said.

Other issues Green said need attention include GLBT parenting rights, in the form of state-assisted adoptions, foster parenting and access to reproductive technologies, along with GLBT youth safety in schools and communities, and conversion therapy.

“Societies don’t always move forward and they sometimes go backward. That is the reason that we have to be vigilant in our efforts,” he said.

Green noted that social science and mental health research has always been a cornerstone of progress toward equal rights. For that reason, the Rockway Institute’s objective is to serve as a central “go-to” resource for social science, mental health and medical research expertise on GLBT topics in the United States and internationally.

“Rockway’s strategies don’t only include conducting research to address political questions, but also to recruit, train and deploy a ‘national army’ of experts on GLBT issues,” he said.

Rockway will also help other organizations in the GLBT community that have a need for specialized research experts to speak to the media, legislatures and the courts about public policy issues central to their missions.

For more information about the Rockway Institute and its programs, visit www.rockwayinstitute.org.