For Colombia's Gay Coupl, The Stggle For Same-Sex Marriage, Adoptn Rights Contu | HuffPost Voic

Contents:

• SURROGACY: A GAY ADOPTN ALTERNATIVE
• CONNECTICUT GAY AND LBIAN RIGHTS NEWS TOPICS
• THE AMERIN GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT
• STATE ANTIGAY ADOPTN POLICI NEED TO GO
• FOR COLOMBIA'S GAY COUPL, THE STGGLE FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, ADOPTN RIGHTS CONTU

SURROGACY: A GAY ADOPTN ALTERNATIVE

” Colloquially known as the “gay-rights bill, ” this legislatn prohibed discrimatn based on sexual orientatn hog, employment, and cred. The gay rights movement and broar fight for LGBTQ+ rights did not start the 1970s, but the Connecticut legislature troduced the first versn of the gay-rights bill 1973. In 1975, Connecticut’s Senate beme the first legislative chamber the untry to pass an anti-discrimatn gay-rights bill, however, the Hoe of Reprentativ then rejected .

As the fight over gay rights and anti-discrimatn legislatn ntued through the 1970s and 1980s, advocy groups formed on both sis of the issue.

CONNECTICUT GAY AND LBIAN RIGHTS NEWS TOPICS

The Connecticut Cizens for Decency took out quarter-page advertisements the Hartford Courant to promote their opns agast homosexualy and arrived at public heargs wearg blue berets and rryg Bibl to ttify to their opposn. On the other si, the Connecticut Coaln for Gay and Lbian Rights and other gay rights activist groups lobbied legislators and anized protts and vigils support of the gay-rights bills.

Several hundred people, who were supportg the Connecticut Coaln for Lbian and Gay Civil Rights, also monstrated outsi the State Capol (June 8, 1989) – Hartford Courant.

THE AMERIN GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT

After the murr of Richard Reihl, a gay Wethersfield man, May 1988, the Connecticut LGBTQ+ muny began to ph more urgently for civil rights and protectns. Several dozen prottors ma to the gallery, where they hung banners that read “We refe to disappear” and listed the nam of the legislators who had voted agast the gay-rights bill. Several months later, Febary 1990, Capol Police arrted 12 members of the Coaln after they terpted Governor William O’Neill’s budget speech to the General Assembly by unfoldg a banner the gallery that mand lbian and gay rights.

STATE ANTIGAY ADOPTN POLICI NEED TO GO

Even though numero gay-rights bills failed over 18 years, several different factors ntributed to the succsful passage of the 1991 bill. As more public figur me out as gay or lbian, beme harr for legislators to claim they did not see the need for the bill bee they had never met a homosexual person. Wh the passage of the law, Connecticut beme the fourth state to prohib discrimatn agast homosexuals—after Wisns, Massachetts, and Hawaii.

FOR COLOMBIA'S GAY COUPL, THE STGGLE FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, ADOPTN RIGHTS CONTU

The 1991 gay-rights law was a signifint tone for the LGBTQ+ muny Connecticut, but also clud several exemptns for relig anizatns, ROTC, owner-occupied multiple fay hom, and child adoptn/foster suatns.

In addn, the law mak very clear that “nothg this act shall be emed or nsted to mean the state of Connecticut ndon homosexualy or bisexualy or any equivalent liftyle.

Whether straight or gay, the rights of a non-blogil parent a uple that surrogacy or other means of assisted reproductn to have a child are clarified the law, as are the rights of a surrogate who rri a child to birth unr ntract. “Today, the ernor thks ’s appropriate that someone who’s gay lead the state’s Office of Early Childhood, ” Bye said, turng towards Lamont. Current statSce Sep 20, 2011Legal Don't Ask, Don't Tell is officially repealed throughout the Uned Stat, and gays and lbians may openly donatns by MSMs Connecticut?

The rights of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer people have been a touchstone of the ACLU of Connecticut's legal and legislative work. Today, 4 percent of adopted children and 3 percent of foster children are raised by gay and lbian parents, and 2 ln more LGBTQ dividuals are terted adoptg. Throughout the history of gay adoptn, same-sex upl have often faced barriers to growg their fai and have had to fight for equal adoptn rights.

While the benefs of adoptn are clear, gay adoptive parents will likely also face many of the same challeng that heterosexual adoptive parents experience: addrsg their children’s racial or cultural inty, managg birth parent relatnships an open adoptn, talkg to their child about adoptn and simply adjtg to parenthood. False Ias About Gay Adoptn’s Effects on Children: While has monly been ed as an argument agast gay and lbian adoptn, studi have shown that same-sex adoptn do not have a negative impact on children.

In addn, there are no signifint differenc the velopment of genr inty and sexual orientatn between children of gay and lbian parents and children of heterosexual parents, acrdg to rearch prentg gay adoptn facts and same-sex adoptn statistics.

Surrogacy Agency Connecticut is mted to assistg our gay and lbian tend parents build the fai they’ve always wanted through gtatnal surrogacy. "Jackson is one of 65, 000 adopted children beg raised by same-sex parents the Uned Stat, acrdg to a March 2007 report piled by the Urban Instute and the Williams Instute at Universy of California at Los Angel School of same report timat more than 14, 100 foster children were livg wh one or more gay or lbian foster and his longtime partner, Ken Manford, adopted Jackson om Guatemala 2001 and say he is not overly bothered by the non-tradnal character of their fay. ""Love mak a fay, not blogy or genr, " he prejudice, legal hurdlEndurg the time-nsumg adoptn or foster re procs is harryg enough for heterosexual upl, but gays and lbians face addnal stat do not have specific laws or urt cisns on gay adoptn or gay foster parentg, acrdg to Pl Catt, director of public tn for the Amerin Civil Liberti Unn's gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr stat and Washgton, D.

Eher implicly or explicly state that sexual orientatn nnot legally prevent gay and lbians om adoptg, acrdg to the Urban Instute report. )Three stat have laws nyg gays and lbians the right to adopt or take foster Mississippi allows sgle gays and lbians to adopt, prohibs same-sex upl om adoptg.

Florida is currently the only state that specifilly bans "homosexual" dividuals om adoptg, although the state do allow them to be foster the remag 36 stat, gays and lbians who want to adopt or take foster re children are at the mercy of judg and adoptn and foster agenci, acrdg to the Evan B. Donaldson Adoptn Instute, a non-prof anizatn that studi adoptn and foster although the stute says about 60 percent of all adoptn agenci accept applitns om gays and lbians, they are often nonted wh prejudice durg the Prettyman's partner, Kelly Schlageter, ed a sperm donor and gave birth to tw girls about six months ago.

Amerins dividWhile has not galvanized opposn as forcefully as the issue of same-sex marriage, polls show the Amerin public is divid about gay and lbian adoptn. (Read how a new poll suggts even more Amerins approve of adoptn by same-sex upl)Some opponents argue that gay or lbian hoeholds suffer om not havg both a mom and a dad.

"There is no credible social science evince to support that gay parentg -- and by extensn, gay adoptive parentg -- negatively affects the well-beg of children, " said Adam Pertman, executive director of the Evan B.