Massachusetts governor admits gay couples have right to adopt

Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, an opponent of same-sex marriage and a possible Republican presidential contender in 2008, declared Monday that gay couples have "a legitimate interest" when it comes to adopting children. However, he still plans to push forward with a new bill that would exempt Catholic Charities, the social services arm of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Boston, from the state's antidiscrimination law and allow it to exclude gay people from consideration as adoptive parents, The Boston Globe reports.

Last week the Boston archdiocese decided to shut down its adoption operations entirely rather than comply with a law that requires it to include gay couples as prospective adoptive parents, something the Vatican describes as "gravely immoral." At the time, Romney called the antidiscrimination law a "threat to religious freedom" that "put the rights of adults over the needs of children," even though the archdiocese's decision to cease adoptions left thousands of foster children in the lurch.

Romney told reporters Monday at a Boston news conference that his legal staff is still drafting the bill he wants to introduce into the state legislature. It would allow Catholic Charities and other religious groups to discriminate against gays in adoption matters because the antidiscrimination law conflicts with their religious beliefs.

"I know that there will be some gay couples who will say that this could be discriminatory against us," said Romney, who has been telling audiences at Republican events around the country that every child deserves a mother and father. "Except that there are many, many other agencies that can meet the needs of those gay couples, and I recognize that they have a legitimate interest in being able to receive adoptive services."

However, any bill that comes before the Massachusetts legislature may be short-lived, as spokespeople for leaders of both the house and senate said that neither chamber was inclined to meddle with the state's antidiscrimination protections. (The Advocate)

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