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Recommended: Meaning of family
When considering the word “family”, many people think of “Mom+Dad+2.5 children”--the nuclear family of television sitcom. However, this definition of family is a new interpretation that fit the rapid housing expansion of the Cold War years in the Western world. Conservatives have often decried the breakdown of this definition of family as a primary reason for their opposition to same sex marriage. As this was the predominant family structure for a lengthy period of time, most family law decisions have been written with this paradigm in mind, defining a husband/wife relationship as the norm. However, as gay marriage is legalized nationally, family law must adapt to newer definitions of the word “family”, in order to provide equitable treatment under law for both heterosexual and homosexual couples. These changes stand to impact custodial law, adoption law, divorce law, and benefit law.
Custodial law is one of the first areas that will need to be re-written, because of its impact not just to the parents but to the psychological well-being of the children. Even in a situation where the parents are not divorced, a gay spouse may have no caregiver rights. School systems often require special dispensations for a non-biological parent to be able to access the child's information. Medical facilities cannot authorize treatment on the word of someone not a stepparent or without written consent of the parent. One way that this has been traditionally circumvented is by second-parent-adoption, but if a couple is legally married, then second-parent-adoption has been ruled to be extraneous (Blau). Unfortunately, should the gay spouses be in an area which does not recognize their marriage as legal, then the non-primary par...
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...se.gov/news/same-sexbenefitsmemo.pdf>.
"Parenting Laws: Second Parent or Stepparent Adoption." Human Rights Campaign. Human Rights Campaign, 18 Feb. 2014. Web. 7 Mar. 2014. .
Shapiro, Lila. "More And More Gay People Can Get Married ... But Can They Divorce?" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 05 Dec. 2013. Web. 07 Mar. 2014.
Shapiro, Lila. "Utah Attorney General Makes Gay Adoption Harder." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 01 Mar. 2014. Web. 07 Mar. 2014.
Shishkin, Philip. "The Battle Over Benefits for Same-Sex Spouses." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 21 May 2009. Web. 07 Mar. 2014.
Steffen, Jordan. "Appeals Court Decision Big Step for Same-sex Parents in Custody Cases." The Denver Post. Digital First Media, 14 Dec. 2013. Web. 07 Mar. 2014.
Abstract On June 26, 2015 a divided Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex couples could now marry nationwide. At the time of the split ruling there were 9 supreme court justices, 5 of the justices were Republicans, and the remaining 4 were Democrats. In high profile cases it is except that the justices will vote along party lines. When the 5-4 ruling was reveled by the following statement. “It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right (Corn,2015).” written by
The author argues that since the passage of the Adoption and Safe Family Act of 1997, adoption rates have increased and adoption has been promoted as the “normative ideal”.
Since 1972, the issues surrounding the rights of unwed birthfathers have provided America with a highly controversial and morally challenging topic for debate. Prior to 1972, these unwed fathers were given little or no involvement in their child’s adoption proceedings, but because of highly publicized adoption cases in which birthfathers have retained custody of their child many years after their adoption took place, state legislatures have been forced to review their adoption laws regarding birthfathers and create more concrete ones. The laws in Florida regarding birthfathers have changed dramatically over the past several years, with complicating, senseless laws being replaced with more rational and reliable ones. The newest laws, passed in 2003 regarding a Putative father registry provide the most stable and fair support for legal adoption proceedings.
Meezan, William and Jonathan Rauch. "Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Parenting,and America's Children." Marriage and Child Wellbeing 15 (2005): 2.
Nagourney, Adam. "Court Strikes Down Ban on Gay Marriage in California." New York Times. N.p., 7 Feb. 2012. Web.
Being for or against gay and lesbian marriage has been the topic that has started a great amount of controversy in the U.S. for the past few years. In some states gay marriage has been already been approved, but in others it has been denied. The next hot topic in the U.S. refers to the approval of gay and lesbian adoption. There are many negative and positives to this subject, whether society is for, or against gay and lesbian marriage. The act of gay and lesbian adoption should not be allowed because, yes its true we don’t get to choose our parents but we should at least be able to have a father and mother, not two fathers and or two mothers. It is also not fair for an innocent little one to get put on the spotlight and get dirty looks from others because of the adults’ choices. The embarrassment of not having a mother or father can be so overwhelming on such children that it could unfortunately lead them to taking bad actions.
Shapiro, Joseph P., Gregory Stephen. “Kids with Gay Parents.” U.S News and World Report. 121.11
Second parent adoption is an important tool utilized by same-sex couples in an effort to protect their parental rights in states where same sex marriage is not recognized. Although gay and lesbian paren...
ALCU of Ohio. “LGBT Rights on the Docket.” ACLU of Ohio, 25 Sept. 2015, www.acluohio.org/archives/cases/obergefell-v-hodges
"The Constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act in the Wake of Romer v. Evans ." New
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.
Redlingshafer, JoEllen. "The LGBT Movement Must Look Past Gay Marriage." Policymic. Policymic, 2013. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.
Homosexuality is becoming more and more accepted and integrated into today’s society, however, when it comes to homosexuals establishing families, a problem is posed. In most states, homosexuals can adopt children like any other married or single adult. There are many arguments to this controversial topic; some people believe that it should be legal nationally, while others would prefer that is was banned everywhere, or at least in their individual states. There are logical reasons to allow gays to adopt children, but for some, these reasons are not enough. The main issue really is, what is in the best interest of the child? This type of problem isn’t really one with causes, effects, and solutions, but one with pros and cons. Like any other adoption situation, a parent prove themselves to be responsible and capable enough to raise a child on their own, or with a spouse.
Stoddard, T, Fein, B, (Jan. 1990) Gay Marriage, Personal relationships, Marriage, Legislation, Homosexuality, American Bar Association, (Pages 42, 42)
Bennett, Jessica. "The Case Against Marriage." Newsweek. Newsweek, 11 June 2010. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.