Adoption by Gay Couples Should Be Legal in All 50 States Essay example

In 2008, President Barack Obama stated there are too many children who need loving parents to deny one group of people adoption rights (eQuality, 2005). A child will benefit from a healthy, loving home, whether the parents are gay or not (eQuality, 2005). With that statement in 2008 from the individual who holds the most powerful authority in the United States, why are gay and lesbian couples today still battling adoption laws? When in fact while trying to adopt and raise children a couple’s sexual

The number of children being adopted by same-sex parents has almost tripled in the past decade. However, to this day, some states still ban gay adoption completely while other states use

“There is no scientific basis for concluding that lesbian mothers or gay fathers are unfit parents on the basis of their sexual orientation” (Armesto, 2002; Patterson, 2000; Tasker & Golombok, 1997). Ever since gay and lesbians have been parents people have questioned how the parents’ sexual orientation impacts child and adolescent development. Opponents of same-sex parents argue that sexual orientation has a negative impact on child development, while proponents argue that the relationship between the child and parents is what matters. National, state, and local governments are faced with the controversy surrounding same-sex parenting. People have very strong opinions on both sides of the argument. Children and adolescents who are under lesbian or gay parents have normal child development compared with children under heterosexual parents. These children develop normally socially, mentally, and academically.

Gay adoption is a subject which is widely debated. However over recent years gay adoption has allowed for most gay couples who want to adopt young children and give them a good quality of life, which they would have if they lived with their biological parents or a heterosexual couple, to do so.

More and more LGBT couples want to adopt. By allowing LGBT couples to adopt, you are taking more children out of foster care and placing them in loving homes. LGBT parents typically adopt the children with the greatest needs. Twenty-one of the fifty states currently allow for second-parent adoption. A majority of states no longer deny custody or visitation rights based on sexual orientation. There is no evidence that LGBTs are unfit parents (Lyons 25-26).

Homosexuality has been a sensitive subject in society for a long time. In recent years, it has sparked both support and controversy in areas such as legalizing gay and lesbian marriage and various other matters that have arisen surrounding the movement towards equality of treatment and integration into society. One of these matters that has garnered attention is gay parenting.

Recently, research has shown that gay and lesbian parents share the parental characteristics of support, protection, and stability that children need. Sexual orientation should not be problem when adopting children. Children adopted by same-sex couples are more likely to be placed with parents who are patient, dedicated to their children, and have respect for the differences of the

Child welfare services and the ACLU would agree that thecircumstances remain ideal for the child because having homosexual parents poses nodisadvantage to children (ACLU 2).The gay community is becoming more and more prominent in American society. Whatwas once an extremely ³closeted´ life style, is integrating itself into our everyday lives. As morerights are granted to gay and lesbian people, the more normal they are going to seem to everyoneelse. I¶m confident that my future children will grow up accepting homosexuality and that astime goes on, so will the rest of the country. So if the gay community is going to become sosignificant in our lives, shouldn¶t we grant them equal rights? If we can accept gays and lesbiansas people, partners, workers, and friends, why can¶t we accept them as good parents? When youlook at it logically, the exclusion of homosexuals as adoptive parents just doesn¶t make sense.³Love makes a family, not biology or gender,´ says gay dad Robert Calhoun about hisexperience as an adoptive father. Calhoun and his partner Clay of Avondale Estates, Georgiahave adopted two children-- four-year-old daughter Rainey and eighteen-month-old son Jimmy.Calhoun adds, ³We¶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

Others who do not support same-sex adoption show concerns for the well-being of the child after being exposed to a homosexual lifestyle. In the article, Gay and Lesbian Adoptive Parents: Resources for Professional and Parents, it states that social workers are hesitant to allow same-sex adoptions because they wonder how the child will be raised and how the child will feel about themselves and the parents being homosexual. It is also stated in the article that conservative political and religious groups show how same-sex adoption have negative effects on children (“Gay and Lesbian Adoptive Parents”). There have been cases where the courts have taken in the fact that a child adopted by homosexual parents could be teased because of the parents and did what was the best interest for the child. Their argument was that in the long run the child’s self-esteem could become damaged because of the bullying (“Gay and

Although adoption can be difficult for any single person or married couple, adoption for the gay and lesbian population presents a unique set of challenges both societal and legal. Whether constitutional or not, special rules apply to same gay and lesbian adoption. Under current legislation, is same sex adoption fully legal and how do the laws on the subject measure with regard to equality to adoption among heterosexual couples in the same state? Once the issue of adoption is overcome what happens with regards to parental rights once the homosexual union is dissolved or the couple parts ways?

“State policies banning gay men and lesbians from fostering or adopting children hurt everyone involved” (Hunt and Krehely). Banning same sex couples from adopting is taking away that child’s chance at being able to be in a loving, stable environment and this could dramatically affect the outcome of their lives. There are many positive advantages that the child can get if they were adopted by a lesbian or gay couple.

Gay parents are facing discrimination because of their sexual orientation. Twenty-two states currently allow single gays to adopt and 21 states currently allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt in the U.S. (Mallon, 2007, p. 6). The ability of gay couples to rear a child should not be denied only because they are gay. Homosexuals may be looked down upon by society, but they still are humans and have morals. These morals they possess, may influence a child more than those morals taught to a child with heterosexual parents. All over the world, children suffer in families consisting of alcoholics, drug abusers, and sexual abusers (Powell, 2007, p.1). It is not possible that these environments are safer than what would be provided by homosexual

Since the early 1900s, homosexual people have become increasingly popular and greatly resisted. People that are homosexual face barriers placed upon them by the political system and society. Due to these challenges, homosexuals fought to have the same marital and parental rights as heterosexual people. Same-sex adoption is not prohibited in most states in the United States of America and many places worldwide. Family is not determined solely on blood relations and should be legalized in all parts of the world; because homosexual parents are just as good as heterosexual parents, if not better, and can provide an enriching second chance for many children waiting to be adopted.

“About 19 percent of same-sex couples raising children reported having an adopted child in the house in 2009, up from just 8 percent in 2000.” As society changes there opinions on same-sex marriage they more gays and lesbians are adopting. There was recent rise in same-sex adoption but there is still people in U.S. that are against same-sex adoption. Recently a judge in Kentucky objected gay and lesbian adoption. This caused a huge uproar and had people thinking whether or not gay and lesbian adoption is okay for the children. One article feels that state legislators are putting more hurdles in the way of adoption and preventing children from getting into loving and caring homes (“Adoptions are declining,”2017). Gays and lesbians being able to adopt will provide loving homes, get kids out of foster care, and they choose to be parents.

Nowadays, the question of gay marriage is one of the most heated and controversial. Over the years, same-sex couples are fighting for the legal recognition for their marriages and their right as parents. Parenthood is one of the most valuable experiences in a human life. After finding a partner, it is natural for people to want to raise children. Homosexual parent are the same in ability and commitment to raised healthy children. It would be a big step for improvement in our society to provide necessary support and rights for same-sex couples and their children.