Gay Adoption

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there are approximately 600,000 same-sex couples in the United States (Simmons & O'Connell, 2003). More than 30% of these couples have at least one child, and over half of that 30% have two or more children. Therefore, parents of the same sex are raising at least 200,000 children--possibly more than 400,000--in America (these numbers do not include single lesbian or single gay parents). for the rest: http://cwla.org/programs/culture/glbtqposition.htm

So again I was listening to NPR. Two minutes into the program I started yelling at the radio (it sounds much more dramatic than it actually is-- I yell at the radio a couple times a week). The issue at hand was gay adoption and the 16 states that are looking to restrict or ban adoptions by gay couples. The only state to actually have one of these outright bans is Florida. The arguement for the ban is that the ideal home environment has a mother and a father and that same-sex partnerships are more likely to break-up than a marriage between people of opposite sex. It is a "child welfare issue." Now, I am not even going to mention the higher than 50% divorce rate among straight couples that exists in the US now. The way I see it is an ideal home is where you have people who love you enough to provide you a stable home with positive influences of all kinds. I cannot see how living in multiple foster homes or orphanages can be viewed as better than living with two mommies or daddies. Most studies (I should find one) show no difference in the health and welfare of children raised by same-sex parents. As NPR does, they had people on each side of the issue and from what I heard in today's debate, there is no real reason to adopt such a ban except to deny rights to people who are "different." It makes me so angry to think people in this world will listen to the bigotry that is spouted in the name of children's advocacy. I suggest we ask a kid in their tenth foster home if they would mind being adopted by a gay couple, my guess is they would be happy to have a stable, loving home of any kind. But what do I know?