Thursday, December 10, 2009

Focus on the Kid, Not the Sexual Preference of Parents

While there is much debate over gay people adopting children and how it is unfair to the child, I think that nothing is really fair for a child whether his/her parents are gay or not. The fact that the parents are gay should not determine whether or not they get to adopt a child, but there should be some sort of test all child-wanting couples should go through in order to adopt a child.
There are cases where a gay couple may provide a much better childhood for a kid than a straight couple would. For example, my friend's cousin is gay and is about to finish grad school, and his boyfriend or significant other or whatever is a lawyer, and they easily pull in enough money and are happy with each other that when they do adopt a kid they can provide for it. On the other hand, a friend of mine from high school had a kid when she was 17. She got drunk with the kid's dad and had sex without thinking, and now they have a kid, and neither of them had a job or even finished high school. The kid's dad drank way too much, so this story had drunken abuse written all over it. In these two cases, would the child not be better suited to be raised by the gay men rather than an alcoholic straight couple? I know that they didn't plan on the kid but this example was just to show that there are tons of kids out there who are in shitty homes and would most likely not mind two mommies or daddies in exchange for a happier childhood. When you look back on your childhood and your time with your parents, you think of the times you spent with them, so as long as the people can provide happy memories, who cares what their sexual preference is?
As for the test, orphanages or adoption services should investigate potential adopters, regardless of sexual preference, and if they have a stable income, healthy environment, and are generally happy people, then they can adopt a child.

1 comment:

  1. Gay rights have been making slow progress, yet there are still obstacles in place. I feel that gay couples should be afforded the right to adopt children just as straight couples should. I feel that sexual orientation is not the deciding factor in whether parents are good or not. Gay couples should have the same adoption processes, procedures, and rights as straight couples. What matters is the quality of the parenting, not the orientation of the parent.

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