Gay couples should be able to adopt because they deserve to be happy as well as any other person. According to author Pascoe Watson he states “Gay couples will have to prove they have an enduring relationship with the children to know the children will be happy” (Pascoe- Watson, George p. 3). Just like any other person their relationship with their children will mature, and will soon be able to have that love and caring affection, just like any other mother and father would provide to their children. There are a lot of homosexual couples in our society that have managed to win children’s love without having any problems what so ever and remain as one happy family. Homosexuals dream is to form a family just like any other person wishes to have. Furthermore, this shows that gay parents will do the impossible to prove they can build a love and caring relationship. Gay couples should be able to adopt because they will support their children financially. According to Allen Young in his article he states “just like straight people can bring children into the world who are eventually not in involved and unwanted and have no financial support” (Young, Allen p. 10). Gay couples happen to understand children more they too have been left alone and criticized by society. Children are left without parents and therefore other couples will try to adopt them. Just like any other human being who hard work to make money, gay couples should be allowed to adopt because they have their jobs, education and are affectionate that they provide to a child. Overall, if their biological parents did not want him/her, gay couples would be a good candidate that would actually provide that financial support they need and as well understand them. The l... ... middle of paper ... ...y can be the best parents they can be if we were to just let them adopt children. Works Cited Meacham, Jon. et. al. “The Gay Dilemma.” Newsweek 139. 18 (2002) : 26 Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. Pappas, Stephanie. “Why Gay parents May Be The Best Parents”. LiveScience. 15 Jan. 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.< http://www.livescience.com/gay parents may be the best> Rosato, Jennifer L. “Children of the Same Sex Parents Deserve the Security Blanket of the Percentage Presumption.” Family Court Review 44.1 (2006): 74-86. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. Shapiro, Joseph P., Gregory Stephen. “Kids with Gay Parents.” U.S News and World Report. 121.11 (1996) : p.75. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16. Mar. 2014. Young, Allen. “Childess and Happy.” Advocate. 919.1 (2004): p. 10-10. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Meezan, William and Jonathan Rauch. "Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Parenting,and America's Children." Marriage and Child Wellbeing 15 (2005): 2.
Perrin, Ellen C., and Benjamin S. Siegel. "Promoting the Well-Being of Children Whose Parents Are Gay or Lesbian." Pediatrics 131.4 (2013): 1374-383. PDF file.
Homosexual couples should be granted the same freedom to adopt children like heterosexual couples because there are so many children in the foster care who need a nurturing home; it is narrow-minded to think that only heterosexual couples have the capability of raising a child properly; and it is prejudice to exclude homosexuals from adopting a child based on their sexuality. A parent-child relationship may be one of the most sacred and cherished gifts in life but it is also a privilege. The main purpose of adoption is not just for the satisfaction of a couple, regardless of their sexuality—ultimately, it is for the well-being of the adopted child.
All around the world there are thousands even millions of children who are waiting to be adopted. Many who are troubled children, and for that reason they are from foster home to foster home. The ideal American "family" is with a man and a woman. In the United States we have same-sex couples who are wanting to adopt, but they are being turned down due to their sexual preference. Same-sex relationships are much more stable than the average heterosexual relationship. Having a stable relationship ensures an emotionally steady home for a foster child. “Good parenting is not influenced by sexual orientation. Rather, it is influenced most profoundly by a parent’s ability to create a loving and nurturing home” (“LGBT Adoption”). Same-sex couples are more likely to adopt “hard to place” children with challenging behavior or disabilities.
In recent years, same-sex relationships have become more encompassing in US society. State legislation is changing such as accepting gay marriages, enforcing anti-discrimination laws, and legal gay adoptions; the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community is becoming public. Gay-headed families, like heterosexuals, are diverse and varying in different forms. Whether a created family is from previous heterosexual relationships, artificial insemination, or adoption, it deserves the same legal rights heterosexual families enjoy. Full adoption rights needs to be legalized in all states to provide a stable family life for children because sexual orientation does not determine parenting skills, children placed with homosexual parents have better well-being than those in foster care, and there are thousands of children waiting for good homes.
Patterson, C. J. (1992). Children of lesbian and gay parents. Society for Research in Child Development, 63(5), 1025-1042. doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.ep9301201145
Adoption for same sex couples is a very controversial topic in Family Law, and often same sex couples face many unique issues if they wish to adopt. Many states have different laws that apply for gay and lesbian adoption, as opposed to heterosexual couples. Several states also have special rules that apply when a child is born into a gay or lesbian partnership. Gay and lesbian couples may sometimes opt to bring a child into their lives through conception and birth as well. For a lesbian couple, this is usually done through a male donor or a sperm bank and having one of the couple become pregnant. Similarly, gay men may use a surrogate mother and then become a legal parent through adoption. The other parent then can become a legal second parent through stepparent or second parent adoption. However, many states including Virginia don’t allow second parent adoption.
Crowl, A., Soyeon, A., & Baker, J. (2008). A meta-analysis of developmental outcomes for children of same-sex and heterosexual parents. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 4(3), 385-407.
Children of gay and lesbian parents have the same potential as other children despite living in a nontraditional household, a growing trend in America. Same-sex parented families face many struggles such as discrimination based on sexual orientation of the parents. Individuals who do not support same-sex marriage or same-sex parenting believe that the child will not be raised in a stable household. Multiple studies have confirmed that a parent’s sexual orientation does not heavily influence a child’s performance in school or their social behavior. While some individuals believe a male “father” and female “mother” are needed in the household to provide the best environment to raise a child, there is no empirical evidence that shows children with same-sex parents are raised in an unhealthy environment. Stereotypical, traditional households are not the standard anymore, so individuals must accept that children can develop in nontraditional households normally. The children of same-sex couples, although raised in different households from their heterosexual counterparts, excel just as easily in the social and academic spheres of life.
One of the most controversial issues surrounding American today is allowing same-sex couples to adopt a child. Over the last decade, America has seen a frequent number of people “come out” in their lives. Because of this, we have seen more and more gay couples want to adopt a child. Unfortunately, today that process to adopt is very difficult to accomplish, more so than a heterosexual couples. Why is that you wonder? It seems as if every time a poll is taken, the majority is for gay marriage in general and steadily growing in favor of it; however, the United States continues to change every single day morally and ethically which seems endless. Today, approximately one in five male same sex couples and one in three female same sex couples are raising children. That is an increase from one in five female, and one in twenty male couples in 1990 (Belkin). Some of the major issues about not letting gay couples adopt include that can be argued are, children of same-sex parents are not markedly different from those of heterosexual parents, gay couples supposedly don’t have the opposite sex as role models, and they force their views upon their children.
Throckmorton, W. (2004). Do gay parents influence the Sexual Preferences of Children?. Retrieved Jul 30, 2004 from http://www.narth.com/docs/influence.html
Since the 1970s, studies on the effect of same-sex parenting on children have been conducted in the United States. Sociological debates have occurred from the idea of allowing same-sex couples to parent. Some groups feel that allowing this would undermine the traditional ideology of marriage and skew the perception of gender roles for their children. Sociologists continue to produce empirical research that studies samples of the approximately 125,000 same-sex couples raising nearly 220,000 children and comparing their roles as parents and the adult personalities of their children to children raised by heterosexual couples. Current scientific research comparing the outcomes of children raised by gay or lesbian parents with children of heterosexual parents consistently shows that same-sex parents are just as capable of raising “psychologically healthy and well-adjusted” children as heterosexual parents. Research comparing children raised by same-sex couples and heterosexual couples found no differences in the adjustment or mental health of these children as adults.
There is an abundance of children in the U.S. lacking a home and a family, that of which a gay couple could provide. Some states have legalized joint gay adoption, while others are still on the fence about it, and would rather not pass the law. A reason why those states should pass the law is, because of the foster care system. Many children, whether it’s a boy or girl, can jump to and from at least twenty homes before they turn 18. Some would be against the gay adoption, because they feel like the child would choose their sexual orientation based off what they see their adoptive parents doing. Those people fail to realize that having gay parents wouldn’t affect the child’s sexual preference. Just like having hetrosexcual parents cannot change a child from being gay. Lastly, another reason why gay adoption should be legalized nationwide is because, many people use their judgement from religious background to vote “NO” on joint gay adoption. When the 1st amendment clearly states that there needs to be a separation between church and
There indicators of child developmental outcomes were categorized into parent and child relationship quality, children’s cognitive development, children’s gender role behavior, children’s gender identity, children’s sexual preference, and children’s social and emotional development. There analysis showed that children with same-sex parents fared equally to children raised by heterosexual parents when comparing developmental outcomes. Same-sex parents also reported a significantly better relationship with their children than heterosexual parents, which was measured by the parent or child perception of the quality of their relationship. This goes back to the argument that parent sexuality has no impact on the child but rather the relationship between the parent and the child has is the most impactful. In Crowl, Ahn and Baker (2008) meta-analysis study also found that the parent sexual orientation had no effect on gender identity, cognitive development, psychological adjustment, and sexual
Marinoble, Rita M. "Homosexuality: A Blind Spot In The School Mirror." Professional School Counseling 1.3 (1998): 4-7. ERIC. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.