Legal Status of Gay Adoption - Essay Example

?Gay Adoption Should Be Legal Everywhere America is coming into a new age of enlightenment in the 21st century. With more and more s finding valid legal and moral reasons to declare the legality of same sex marriage, the country has openly declared to the world that equality of all sexes does exist in the republic of the free. With same sex couples finally free to openly declare their love for one another, they are also given the legal protection of the land. However, that legal protection seems limited in scope as there are only 11 states in the United States that allows same sex couples to legally adopt a child (Wagner, Brandon “Should Homosexual Partners Be Allowed to Adopt?”). This limited scope of adoption is contrary to the legal rights that the validity of gay marriage protects. If the couple find themselves free to openly love one another, why are the laws of the land preventing them from doing what comes naturally to a married couple? That of starting a family. Admittedly, same sex couples are not biologically capable of impregnating one or the other in order to achieve a naturally formed family. We also must admit that as a society there are still millions of children housed in adoption institutions or foster care systems looking for a good home. Good homes are hard to find these days, even with heterosexual couples. So why not give the same sex couples a try? Why not allow them to adopt a child and prove that they too can be exemplary parents to their children, even though they may not share the same bloodline? These adopted children need loving homes, who is to say that a a same sex home cannot provide that? What exactly are the reasons that our society still has inhibitions when it comes to allowing same sex couple to adopt? This paper aims to look at the arguments both for and against same sex adoptions with the full intention of providing factual information that will prove that allowing same sex adoptions will prove beneficial to the child and therefore, should be legally allowed across the United States. Let me begin this discussion by presenting the con side of the argument. These arguments range from psychological in nature, all the way to religious defenses. Whatever the argument presented, these non-supporters of the gay adoption cause do so on the same grounds, they are little informed and truly homophobic in nature which is why they are opposed to the love of a same sex couple being shared with a child who wants nothing more than the same. Politicians such as the United Kingdom's Independence party candidate Winston McKenzie has declared that gay adoption should be likened to child abuse and is a violation of a child's human rights. Mr. McKenzi claims that there is an abuse of the child's rights because; “that child has no opportunity to grow up under normal circumstances... There are people out there who bring up their kids encouraging them to believe they are gay themselves. ” (Chorley. Matt “Allowing Gay Couples to Adopt Is a Form of Child Abuse, Says UKIP Election Candidate). It is important to note that Mr. McKenzie is a Christian with anti-gay sentiments therefore same sex adoption was against his religious beliefs. Aside from religious points of view such as Mr. McKenzie's the cause for gay adoption was not helped by the June 29 news that gay father Frank Lombard sexually molested his 5 year old adopted son. Reports coming from the Associated Press indicate that this is a disturbing trend that is emerging from a scientific literature about gay fathers. According to reports: “The Arrest Warrant documents that Lombard sodomized one of his two adopted African-American sons and made the boy give him oral sex on-line” (Cameron, Paul Dr. “Lombard Demonstrates Why Gays Should Not Be Allowed to Adopt”). The main fear of the psychological community is that children in same sex adopted homes are dangerously exposed to child molestation due to the queer lifestyle of the adopted parents. In the peer-reviewed Psychological Reports journal, Dr. Paul Cameron of the Family Research Institute explains that gay couple children are more easily influenced to adopt their parents lifestyles and that :”While every gay parent does not molest his child, the scientific literature records a much higher incidence of molestation by gay parents or foster parents” (Cameron, Paul Dr. “Lombard Demonstrates Why Gays Should Not Be Allowed to Adopt”). Such evidence, when viewed with little to no knowledge of the true sentiments of gay couples when it comes to adoption makes it seem like these men and women are monsters who are out to destroy the innocence and lives of the children that they adopt. Coupled with the support of the Catholic church, it would seem like our society is truly losing its mind to allow gay couples to adopt even a dog. The Catholic church opposes same sex adoption of children because according to their doctrine marriage is a sacred relationship between a man and a woman. That includes their ability to procreate, which same sex couples cannot do. The church stand is that adoption is all about looking after the welfare of the child as opposed to the perceived rights of same sex couples. This is a stand that they backed up with evidence from the May 6 published report of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) titled “Review of Research on Homosexual Parenting, Adoption, and Foster Parenting” as written by George Rekers, professor of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine which explains that same sex adoption ; “uniquely endangers foster children by exposing them to a substantial level of harmful stresses that are over and above usual stress levels in heterosexual foster homes” (Rekers, George “Same- Sex Marriage: Not in Kids' Interest”). It is funny when you think of the way that these people consider the stress levels of children living in same-sex homes while no attention is paid to the trauma and stress set upon children living in a stress filled heterosexual home. Let's face it, our country is living in a fast changing world where sexual orientation does not dictate the parenting skill of a person. Yet, most of the population still live with the perception that a family belongs in a cookie cutter mold served up by nostalgia TV like The Donna Reed Show, Happy Days, and The Waltons (Shilling Kim “Facts make the Case for Gay Adoption, No Matter What Opponents Say”). The time has come for the citizens of this country to reconcile the current events with the real status of the American family. That is to say, the American family has changed a lot over the past decades with the introduction of step families and sibling from divorced families. What could be more traumatizing than having a slew of half siblings with different fathers and mothers in a heterosexual parent set up? Isn't that more traumatizing for a child than growing up in a same sex household? Let us not forget that there is also a high rate of sexual molestation and rape in the heterosexual household when it comes to the children as well. Isn't it safer to say that the risks of having children raised in same sex homes the same as having them raised in a heterosexual household? The main argument against gay adoption, that the child will grow up confused and without a role model for the opposite parent (father or mother). However, the American Psychological Association has already declared that there is no conclusive evidence to prove these claims. In fact, the American Psychological Association has released a statement explaining that the APA; “has concluded that there is no scientific evidence that parenting effectiveness is related to parental sexual orientation.” (Wickham, Shaunda “Should Same-Sex Couples Be Allowed to Adopt? PRO.”). If one were to look closely at the arguments against gay adoption, one will be hard pressed to find a valid reason to prevent these loving couples from adopting a child. A child raised in a same-sex household in fact, grows up to be more open-minded and well rounded as an individual due to his unique circumstances growing up He has a greater respect for the individuality and uniqueness of a person and is capable of overcoming discrimination thrown his way. However, the same cannot be said for the heterosexual society that targets the child from same-sex homes and uses the child's unique upbringing to bully, harass, and discriminate against him due to his different family life (Russell, Maranda “Should Gay Couples Be Allowed to Adopt?”). Remember that just because the law does not legally allow same sex couples to adopt does not mean that it is not happening on an unofficial basis. America already has a number of generations that grew up in a same-sex household. Although there are some who had negative experiences being raised in same-sex households, there are more who had positive experiences stemming from it. These are the children who swear that their family was the same as any other. They grew up normally, even straight in sexual orientation, and they love their same sex parents and are grateful for having been raised by them. Admittedly, there was a time when homosexuality was still a taboo social topic that those practicing the alternative lifestyle were viewed as pedophelias. That is a dark part of the history of homosexuality that they have done their best to overcome to this very day. They should not be judged by the mistakes that those before them made. Homosexuals have come a long way from that and should be given a fair chance at proving that they are also capable of being loving parents to the unwanted chldren produced by the accidental fornication of heterosexual couples. Think about it, heterosexuals throw away their children via adoption. Gay couples want to take care of the children. Surely there is some irony invovled in that. Homosexuality is not morally wrong. Science has proven that, contrary to religious beliefs, the human DNA does create a third sex in a fluke of nature. Although they are different, they should not be judged by their lifestyle. They are still human beings with the same rights under the law. As a married couple, they too share the same protection already. Therefore, the laws of the land and the inhibitions of religious sectors or society should not prevent them from achieving the pinnacle of their dreams, that of creating a family unit to call their own via adoption. These people have plenty of love and care to share with the unwanted children, give them a chance to do it. There is no greater risk in allowing them to adopt as there is in giving a child to a heterosexual couple. All that matters is that there is a couple out there willing to take in a strangers child and raise him as their own in a loving household. Works Cited Cameron, Paul. Dr. “Lombard Demonstrates Why Gays Should Not Be Allowed to Adopt”. Christian News Wire. christiannewswire.com. 2012. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. Chorley, Matt. “Allowing Gay Couples to Adopt is a Form of Child Abuse, Says UKIP Election Candidate. Mail Online. dailymail.co.uk. 27 Nov. 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2013. Rekers, George. “Same-Sex Marriage: Not in Kids' Interest”. Catholic Education Resource Center. catholiceducation.org. 2005. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. Russell, Maranda. “Should Gay Couples be Allowed to Adopt?”. examiner.com. examiner.com. 25 Jan. 2011. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. Shilling, Kim. “Facts Make the Case for Gay Adoption, No Matter What Opponents Say”. The Signal. sdusignal.com. 10 Oct. 2009. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. Wagner, Brandon. “Should Homosexual Partners Be Allowed to Adopt?”. greenbaypressgazette.com. greenbaypressgazette.com. n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2013. Wickham, Shaunda. “Should Same-Sex Couples Be Allowed to Adopt? PRO.” The Oracle. usforacle.com. 25 Jan. 2013. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. Read More