Adoptn agency should be able to reject gay upl, Tmp admistratn argu

A 2019 study om Tufts Medil Center found that almost two-thirds of gay fathers the Uned Stat experience stigma as homosexual dads, most often relig a 2015 Universy of Oregon survey of 19, 000 studi related to same-sex parentg found that children raised by gay and lbian upl were no different than those raised by parents of the oppose relig groups, the qutn is not whether gay men and lbians are f to be parents, but rather their relig objectn to homosexual unns the first place.

”The latter argument c a recent Supreme Court se which the ernment tervened on behalf of baker Jack Phillips who refed to bake a weddg ke for a gay uple due to his relig beliefs.

Over 21 percent of gay upl are raisg adopted children, pared wh 3 percent of straight upl, and nearly 3 percent of gay upl have foster children, pared wh 0. Conservative anizatns that claim to poe “tradnal fay valu” have promised to lnch a natnwi mpaign 1998 to enact state-level legislatn to prohib adoptn by lbians and gay men. The threats of anti-gay and anti-child legislatn have e rponse to the creased willgns of urts, policymakers and legislators to regnize that lbians and gay men n be good parents and should be evaluated on their parentg skills, rather than their sexual orientatn.

WHAT MAK A FAY? A CLOSER LOOK AT GAY ADOPTN

The recent settlement of an ACLU lawsu New Jersey, where the State agreed to allow lbian and gay upl to adopt unr the same standards applied to married upl, has creased the right wg’s foc on this issue.

Bee nobody has the right to adopt, our opposn to anti-gay adoptn bills is not based on “gay rights” and we should not ame our arguments that way. The Amerin Psychology Associatn, a recent report reviewg the rearch, observed that “not a sgle study has found children of gay or lbian parents to be disadvantaged any signifint rpect relative to children of heterosexual parents” and nclud that “home environments provid by gay and lbian parents are as likely as those provid by heterosexual parents to support and enable children’s psychosocial growth.

”7 That’s why the Child Welfare League of Ameri, the natn’s olst children’s advocy anizatn, argu that gays and lbians seekg to adopt should be evaluated jt like other adoptive applints. All of the available evince monstrat that the sexual orientatn of parents has no impact on the sexual orientatn of their children and that children of lbian and gay parents are no more likely than any other child to grow up to be gay. There is some evince that children of gays and lbians are more tolerant of diversy, but this is certaly not a disadvantage.

OUR PARENTS ARE GAY. ARE OUR FAI GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE SUPREME COURT?

The study nclud that “a child’s risk of beg molted by his or her relative’s heterosexual partner is over 100 tim greater than by someone who might be intifiable as beg homosexual, lbian, or bisexual. For a more -pth discsn of the rearch on lbian and gay parentg, see Lbian And Gay Parentg, Amerin Psychologil Associatn (1995). For a more extensive discsn of the policy and legal issu surroundg the qutn of adoptns by lbians and gay men, see Issu In Gay And Lbian Adoptn, Child Welfare League of Ameri (1995).

Efforts to feat anti-gay, anti-child adoptn legislatn should employ the arguments and rmatn ntaed the ACLU’s policy memorandum, “Defendg Fair And Sensible Adoptn Polici. Nothg is more effective at bunkg the bias and stereotyp voked by opponents of “gay adoptn” than actually showg legislators and the public who lbian and gay parents are.

GAY RIGHTS, RELIG EEDOM, AND THE BATTLE OVER ADOPTN

The most effective way to do this is by gettg lbian and gay fai to tell their stori ttimony before legislative mte, to the media, and public meetgs. The ACLU has found that the more legislators and the public get to hear the real-life stori of lbians and gay men who are buildg fai through adoptn and other means, the more succs we have featg anti-gay, anti-child adoptn proposals.

By speakg at ACLU prs nferenc and agreeg to be terviewed by televisn and rad shows, the uple foced public discsn about “gay adoptn” on the real issue: placg parentls children stable and lovg hom. As a rult of the historic nature of the New Jersey settlement, which guarante that gay and heterosexual unmarried upl seekg to adopt will be evaluated by the same standards as married upl, right-wg anizatns immediately vowed to overturn the agreement the state legislature.

Try to fd lbian or gay upl or dividuals who have adopted or are otherwise raisg children and who are willg to tell their story public. Make sure they unrstand the public msag that we are tryg to munite our efforts to feat anti-gay, anti-child adoptn proposals. As we discsed the ACLU policy memorandum, our arguments on “gay adoptn” should foc on servg the bt terts of children by fdg them stable and lovg hom.

GAY ADOPTN

Bee adoptn is a children’s issue, not a gay rights issue, only mak sense that legislators and the public should be hearg om anizatns that advote for children’s terts.

For example, the Child Welfare League of Ameri, which sets natnal standards for children’s servic and is the olst and largt children’s advocy anizatn the untry, says that gays and lbians seekg to adopt should be evaluated jt like everybody else. (For a py of an op ed piece on gay adoptn recently thored by the ACLU and the Child Welfare League, ntact the ACLU’s Lbian and Gay Rights Project. Categoril bans on adoptn by lbians and gay men are a radil parture om this morn trend and allow policians to make cisns that should be ma by parents and profsnals.

A DEBATE OVER GAY ADOPTN AND FOSTERG

The same qutn n and should be asked about the relatnship regardls of whether volv a married uple or a lbian or gay uple: n this uple provi a lovg and stable home for a child? Lbians and gay men, whether sgle or upl, ually fall farther down the “peckg orr, ” although there may be exceptns dividual s pendg.

On October 14, the Uned Stat Supreme Court cled to review a challenge by the Liberty Counsel about the Florida Bar’s amic brief support of Mart Gill, a gay man who sought to adopt his two foster children. But Gill isn’t a typil prospective parent the ey of feral law–he is a gay man seekg to adopt Florida, the only state the untry that has an outright ban on adoptg to homosexual parents. Child psychology experts ttified that there was no scientific evince that would support the state’s ban on gay adoptn, and that would be the children’s bt terts if they stayed wh Gill and his partner.

PUBLIC OPN ON GAY AND LBIAN ADOPTN

When Judge Lerman led the state ban unnstutnal and granted adoptn rights to Gill, the se was seen as a huge tone for gay and lbian prospective parents Florida, and for LGBT rights activists worldwi. A recent survey showed that there are 250, 000 children the Uned Stat livg wh gay and lbian parents, acrdg to Lambda Legal, a natnal anizatn dited to protectg the rights of the LGBT muny as well as those wh AIDS and HIV.

They were among the first adoptn s a Dallas-based agency where the birth parent requted a gay adoptive parent for her child. Compare the figur to a 2005 CBS/New York Tim poll, where only 23% of terviewe believed that gays should marry, and 41% said that there should be no legal regnn of gay upl.

RSIA ENACTS ANTI-GAY ADOPTN BAN

Donaldson Adoptn Instute’s David Brodzsky, 60% of more than 300 public and private agenci natnwi were willg to accept applitns om gay and lbian parents a 2003 study he nducted. Brodzsky says that 15% of the agenci he studied took “active steps” to rec gay and lbian parents, and over a third ma placements. The day before the Milanos me to the agency, a birth mother had walked wh a special requt; she wanted her baby to be adopted by gay parents.

This beme the tippg pot for Adoptn Advisory, which had once refed applitns om gay parents; the Milanos beme the agency’s first gay adoptive parents.

In the Gill and Lofton s, anizatns like the Liberty Counsel, Amerin College of Pediatricians, and the Christian Coaln exprsed rervatns urt about allowg gay and lbian people to adopt. Lawyers and experts of the state the se agast Gill prented reasons why children would be nsired danger if placed wh gay or lbian parents.

RSIAN NSTUTN CHANGE ENDS HOP FOR GAY MARRIAGE

They said that homosexualy would attract unnecsary social stigma to the children and that, scientifilly, children uld bee homosexuals as well. CWLA filed amic briefs for both Lofton’s and Gill’s s, cg that the ban on gay adoptive parents go agast well-tablished child welfare polici, sayg every prospective fay mt be screened on an dividual basis, to make sure they match the needs of the child.

CWLA’s posn statement wh regard to gay and lbian adoptn reads that “lbian, gay, and bisexual parents are as well sued to raise children as their heterosexual unterparts. ” CWLA believ that by excludg gays and lbians om the prospective rource parent pool, some children will not be afford the privilege of havg a permanent home.

If the sexual orientatn of the parents was what would terme the sexual orientatn of the children, then prumably we won’t have so many gay children growg up heterosexual hom.

Adoptn Advice | Public Opn On Gay And Lbian Adoptn

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IN GOOD FAH? U.S. LEGAL BATTLE OVER GAY ADOPTN TENSIFI