Presumptive
Republican presidential candidate John McCain denounced
adoption for same-sex couples this weekend in an interview
with TheNew York Times.
Presumptive
Republican presidential candidate John McCain denounced
adoption for same-sex couples this weekend in an interview
with TheNew York Times. McCain, who with his wife,
Cindy, has an adopted child, has aligned himself with
President Bush, who vehemently opposes adoption rights for
gays.
“I think
that we’ve proven that both parents are important in
the success of a family, so, no, I don’t
believe in gay adoption,” he said in the
article. "I encourage adoption and I encourage the
opportunities for people to adopt children. I
encourage the process being less complicated so they
can adopt as quickly as possible. And Cindy and I are proud
of being adoptive parents."
In McCain's home
state of Arizona, any unmarried adult can petition to
adopt a child; however, the law does not specifically
provide joint adoption by same-sex couples, according
to the Human Rights Campaign. There is also no
explicit ban on allowing a same-sex partner to petition
to adopt a child of the other partner. Florida is the only
U.S. state that bans all forms of adoption by gays.
Jody M. Huckaby,
executive director of Parents, Families, and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays, came out against McCain's views. "Love
makes a family, but short-sighted positions like
Senator McCain's can certainly tear families apart
too," she said in a statement.
Kara Suffrendi,
director of the Family Equality Council's public policy
division, asserted that more than 75% of American homes
don't follow the traditional married, heterosexual
hierarchy. "We are a nation of blended and
multigenerational families, adoptive and foster families,
and families headed by single parents, divorced
parents, unmarried parents, same-sex couples and
more," she said in a statement. "This is what is true
about lesbians and gays raising children: 30 years of
scientifically valid research universally demonstrates that
LGBT families are just as nurturing for children's
growth and development as heterosexual families."
About 130,000
children live in the foster care system in any given
year awaiting a permanent home, according to the Center
for American Progress Action Fund. A joint study by
the Urban Institute and the University of California,
Los Angeles's Williams Institute shows that an
estimated 14,000 adopted children in the United Statea are
living with gay or lesbian parents. A national ban on
such adoptions could cost the foster care system up to
$130 million, placing the burden on states to foot a
bill anywhere between $100,000 and $27 million, according to
the report. (The Advocate)
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