no current laws
specifically bar gay couples from adopting in his state. Now
there’s a push in the General Assembly to get laws changed to ban
adoption by gay couples.
Proposed legislation in the state would not only prevent gay
couples from being able to adopt children but would bar
heterosexual couples who are not married from adopting. Single
people could still adopt, but unmarried couples could not.
The Tennessean has posted its position on the subject:
“The
bill is flawed in two fundamental ways. First, the suggestion
that a gay couple or an unmarried heterosexual couple, by
definition, is fundamentally an unstable familial relationship is
just plain mistaken. Caring couples, married or unmarried, gay or
straight, exist statewide. Those relationships are not
automatically unstable. To the contrary, many stable relationships
are found in those categories. Some of them want to adopt
children.”
The publication goes on to say that the bigger flaw is the
implication that a married heterosexual couple is automatically
considered a stable family environment for children.
Linda O’Neal is executive director of the Tennessee Commission on
Children and Youth. She points out knowledge supported by
research:
“Research also does not support restricting adoption options. The
American Psychological Association reports not a single study has
found children of lesbian or gay parents disadvantaged in any
significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents.
Indeed, the evidence to date suggests
home environments provided by lesbian and gay parents are as likely
as those provided by heterosexual parents to support and enable
children’s psychosocial growth. The American Psychiatric
Association reports children raised in gay or lesbian households do
not show any greater incidence of homosexuality or gender identity
issues than other children.”
(Crossposted at: ProudParenting.com)