Won't someone please think about the children?!

Ahem. Someone has. And that someone is the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The American Academy of Pediatrics declared its support for same-sex marriage for the first time on Thursday, saying that allowing gay and lesbian parents to marry if they so choose is in the best interests of their children. 

Ring them bells.

A large body of evidence demonstrates that children raised by gay or lesbian parents fare as well in emotional, cognitive and social functioning as peers raised by heterosexuals, the academy said. 

Ring 'em louder.

Dr. Travis Kidner, 36, a surgeon in Los Angeles, and Hernan Lopez, 42, a media executive, married in 2008 and adopted Nicholas, 2 1/2 years old, and Zoe, 21 months. “It’s important for kids to know they are from a stable home and that their parents are married,” Dr. Kidner said. 

The pediatrics academy’s support for same-sex marriage heartened him. “The arc is in our favor now,” he said. 

Yes, it is. And it's about damn time.