I.

INTRO

We have all heard the mantra that a child needs to be raised by both and a mother and a

father. The qualities contributed by a man and a woman are each vital to raising a well rounded

individual and therefore the idea of having two mothers or two fathers is simply unacceptable…

right? Well what about no parents? No mother? No father? That child is bound to be well

rounded. So now the real question emerges: Is parental guidance by two parents of the same sex

really more harmful to a child’s development than no parental guidance at all? In some minds the

answer “NO” flashes in bright, blinking lights however, there are many, including the majority

of Americans, who disagree. Laws banning adoption by gay and lesbian couples exist in multiple

states across the country. These bans do more than prohibit same-sex couples from starting

families; they sentence children to a lifetime alone in world where plenty of eligible adoptive

parents exist.

II. BACKGROUND

Since the dawn of United States history states have been given “full faith and credit…to

the public arts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state,” (Constitution 1) via the

Full Faith and Credit clause of the constitution. This clause qualifies state officials to make

decisions about various matters not already decided by the federal government. Therefore this

article gives states the power to legalize gay adoption. Since it also says that states must

recognize the judicial proceedings of other states, an adoption by a gay person or couple

recognized in one state must also be recognized in another state, even if said state bans gay

adoption. Shockingly, while this right has been clearly stated since the formation of our country,

it was not granted until the Adar v. Smith court case of 2010 (Lambda 1).
 The legal status of gay adoption varies across the country. Few are still outright banning

it yet there are also few that fully accept it. Most states are ambiguous to the matter. Currently

causing the most controversy over the issue is Florida- the only state that bans gay adoption of

any kind, not just by couples. In affirming the law allowing this ban a federal court in Florida

claimed that “three HIV-infected children being raised by a gay man (who had been named

foster father of the year) were better off in a home with two married, heterosexual parents,”

(Sanchez 2). The American Civil Liberties Union or ACLU is fighting passionately to get this

ban repealed.

Other states with laws forbidding gay adoption include Utah which prohibits adoption by

"a person who is cohabiting in a relationship that is not a legally valid and binding marriage,"

(Sanchez 3). In Arkansas a law was approved to ban anyone co-habitating outside of a valid

marriage from being foster parents or adopting children. Although the law could apply to

heterosexual couples, it is believed to be targeted at gay couples due to the fact that same-sex

marriage is prohibited in that state, thereby making an adoption impossible. Single gay men and

women are still allowed to adopt in Arkansas. Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Michigan also ban

some forms of gay adoption.

III. ARGUMENT

Until the 1970s, only middle-class, white, married, infertile couples in their late twenties

to early forties who were free of any significant disability were allowed to adopt. Since then,

alterations have been made to allow lower class, disabled, and single people to adopt. Many

agencies realized that these groups of people were just as well qualified as any other to raise

children and that placing a child should be done on a case by case basis without excluding entire
groups of people (ACLU 1). If changes could be made for these groups who is to say that things

can’t change for gays and lesbians? Recent studies in social science have provided evidence that

homosexuals are no less fit for parenting than heterosexuals (ACLU 1) meaning the exclusion of

this group would only result in reducing the number of loving homes for the children who need

them. With so many children currently in foster care, just waiting for a caring family to adopt

them, we cannot afford to rule out homosexual people as parents especially, when these people

are perfectly capable of providing a happy, safe, life for their children.

If a parent is going to be assessed according to their sexual orientation it might also seem

justified to assess them according to race, ethnicity or culture, income, age, religion, appearance,

differing life style, or anything else that sets them apart from the “norm”. This is why applicants

should be accepted based on their capacity to understand and meet the needs of a particular

available child. Child welfare services believe that child placement decisions should be based on

children’s specific needs and parents’ prospective ability to meet those needs (ACLU 2). In some

instances, the blanket exclusion of homosexuals as adoptive or foster parents means that a child

cannot be placed with a family that best suits his or her specific needs. Ruling out families

because of sexual orientation ties the hand of the caseworker by prohibiting them from making

what they think is the best placement for a child. For example, if a child eligible to be adopted

requires constant medical attention it would only make sense that this child be placed with a

parent who is capable of giving them this medical attention. Placing such a child with a parent

who is a doctor or nurse would certainly be ideal. However, what if this doctor or nurse happens

to be gay? Do things change? Is the placement of this child still ideal or would it be more

beneficial for him or her to be raised by straight parents who may not be as qualified to give

them adequate attention? Child welfare services and the ACLU would agree that the
circumstances remain ideal for the child because having homosexual parents poses no

disadvantage to children (ACLU 2).

The gay community is becoming more and more prominent in American society. What

was once an extremely “closeted” life style, is integrating itself into our everyday lives. As more

rights are granted to gay and lesbian people, the more normal they are going to seem to everyone

else. I’m confident that my future children will grow up accepting homosexuality and that as

time goes on, so will the rest of the country. So if the gay community is going to become so

significant in our lives, shouldn’t we grant them equal rights? If we can accept gays and lesbians

as people, partners, workers, and friends, why can’t we accept them as good parents? When you

look at it logically, the exclusion of homosexuals as adoptive parents just doesn’t make sense.

“Love makes a family, not biology or gender,” says gay dad Robert Calhoun about his

experience as an adoptive father. Calhoun and his partner Clay of Avondale Estates, Georgia

have adopted two children-- four-year-old daughter Rainey and eighteen-month-old son Jimmy.

Calhoun adds, “We’re not moms, we’re not heterosexual, and we’re not biological parents, [but]

we’re totally equal and just as loving as female parents, straight parents, and biological parents.”

(Gandossy 1 ) The Calhouns certainly seem capable of providing just as much love and care, as

you can see in there photo (Gandossy 1), for their two children as any other family. Paula

Prettyman, partner of Kelly Schiagler who recently used a sperm donor and gave birth to twin

girls, is not allowed to adopt the children she is raising. Virginia laws prohibit second parent

adoption unless the second parent is married to the first and since gay marriage is illegal in

Virginia, Prettyman has no chance of ever legally becoming the mother of the two girls she

considers her daughters. “In the minds of a lot of policymakers and politicians, I’m an unfit

parent.” she states. Prettyman and Schiagler spent tens of thousands of dollars and many years to
bring their two daughters into the world. “They are loved,” says Prettyman (Gandossy 2). And is

that not what’s most important? Shouldn’t love mean more than anything else? What truly makes

a family has nothing to do with genetics, the law, or lifestyle. As Calhoun would put it, it is love

that means the most.

IV. OPPOSITION

Even with all the evidence available to show that gay parents are just as eligible as

straight parents, many fail to recognize this claim as factual. The constant argument is that

children need both men and women as role models (Father 2). When saying that having a parent

of each sex is the only way to go I believe we are forgetting about children who have only one

parent. Whether the other parent died, abandoned their family when the child was an infant, or

was never in the picture at all, there are millions of children in America being raised solely by a

mother or solely by a father. Families in these situations are being raised by one sex just as

families with two homosexual parents are yet there is not nearly as much criticism for single-

parent families as there is for homosexual-parent families. If one is going to criticize gay couples

for not allowing their children to have role models of both sexes they might as well offer the

same criticism to single mothers and fathers. At least children with two mothers or two fathers

are receiving guidance and love from multiple parents rather than just one.

Another common argument against gay adoption is that there simply hasn’t been enough

research conducted to prove that the children raised by gay couples will be “fine” (Glenn 1). But

what is “fine”? Scientific studies have shown us that children who grow up with two gay or

lesbian parents fare as well in emotional, cognitive, social, and sexual functioning as do children

raised by heterosexual parents (Glenn 2). All scientific research conducted thus far shows no
difference in development between the two groups of children either. All these studies are

concluding that being raised by homosexual parents has no significant, detrimental effect on

children. Does complete normalness not qualify as “fine”? However, this type of research is still

in its youth because the concept of gay adoption is so new (Father 3). Adequate time has not yet

passed to fully measure the lifelong effects of having homosexual parents. It’s true that down the

road some issues may present themselves, but until that time, I do not believe criticism of gay

adoption is in any way justified.

V. CONCLUSION

There are approximately 500,000 children currently in foster care (Number 1). States that

ban adoption by homosexual couples are prohibiting these children from being placed with a

loving family. Rather than living in a nice home with two caring parents to raise them and guide

them through life, these hundreds of thousands of children will grow up with nobody to call

Mom or Dad. The fact that there might be two people call Mom or two to call Dad shouldn’t

matter. Just having someone there to take care of them and love them should be enough. There

will be challenges; these children will face ridicule, and will not live a perfectly normal life. But

whose life is normal? What does that word even mean? What’s important is that if adopted, these

children will have a shoulder to lean on and someone there to tell them its okay. They will

always have someone to run to with arms wide open, ready to make the catch. They will know

love. No matter what size, shape, color, or sex it comes in, love is a universal language capable

of being expressed by anyone and needed by everyone. If gay and lesbian couples are capable of

providing this love to a child, I fail to see why is their eligibility as parents was ever questioned

in the first place.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). "Gays and Lesbians Should Be Allowed to Adopt." At

Issue: Are Adoption Policies Fair? Ed. Amanda Hiber. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008.

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Web. 6 June 2010.

Father", "An Adoptive. "Same-Sex Couples Pose a Threat to Children in Their Care." Opposing

Viewpoints: Homosexuality. Ed. Cindy Bily. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing

Viewpoints Resource Center. Web. 6 June 2010.

Gandossy, Taylor. "Gay Adoption: A New Take on the American Family - CNN.com."

CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Web.

07 June 2010. <http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/25/gay.adoption/index.html>.

Glenn, Gary. "Gays and Lesbians Should Not Be Allowed to Adopt." At Issue: Are Adoption

Policies Fair? Ed. Amanda Hiber. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing

Viewpoints Resource Center. Web. 6 June 2010

"Lambda Legal: Adar v. Smith." LambdaLegal.org. Web. 07 June 2010.

<http://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/cases/adar-v-smith.html>.

"Number of Children in Foster Care by State." Children's Defense Fund (CDF): Health Care

Coverage for All of America's Children, Ending Child Poverty, Child Advocacy

Programs. Web. 07 June 2010. <http://www.childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-

publications/data/children-in-foster-care-by-state-chart.html>.

Sanchez, Julian. "Adoption by Gay Men and Lesbians Is a Good Option for Orphaned Children."

Current Controversies: Issues in Adoption. Ed. Christina Fisanick. Detroit: Greenhaven

Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Web. 6 June 2010

Page - The U.S. Constitution Online - USConstitution.net. Web. 07 June 2010.

<http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html>.