LGBTQ+ Teen Seeks Forever Family After Abandonment by Adoptive Parents

After living with adoptive parents for seven years, Dax says the family stopped loving them because of their LGBTQ+ identity.

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.

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Neal Broverman

September 09 2021 5:09 PM EST

May 31 2023 4:35 PM EST

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An Oklahoma teen went public with their desire for a forever family after their adoptive parents abandoned them after discovering the child was queer.

Dax, 16, told Oklahoma City's NBC affiliate their family stopped loving them -- seven years after they adopted the child through the foster care system.

"It was nice, but then they like -- they started not loving me anymore for who I was, being LGBTQ," Dax said.

Dax, who loves school and raising chickens, is hoping another family will step up to the plate, possibly a same-sex couple or someone more understanding of different identities.

Unfortunately, Oklahoma does not make it easy for same-sex couples or LGBTQ+ people to adopt or foster children. The state passed a law in 2018 that allows foster and adoption agencies to reject prospective parents if it "would violate the agency's written religious or moral convictions or policies." Several states have similar laws that complicate adoption by LGBTQ+ people, which trickles down to heartbreaking scenarios like the one Dax is living through.

Dax says they long to take part in typical family activities. "Just going places together, going on road trips, doing stuff together, going bowling, and all the family stuff," Dax said.