Focus On The Rainbow

The State Government has decided not to allow same-sex couples to adopt, ignoring a parliamentary inquiry that said changing the law would ”ensure the best interests of children”.

The Government said yesterday there was insufficient community support to justify new legislation on the topic.

Groups representing same-sex couples denounced the decision, saying an opportunity to redress discrimination had been missed.

”There are very deeply held, divergent views on this issue and that is why a decision on this matter will not be taken at this stage,” the Minister for Community Services, Linda Burney, said yesterday.

Kellie McDonald, of the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, said the decision was ”extremely disappointing”. ”If the NSW Government’s primary concern was the interests of the children, it would rectify the discrimination of the NSW Adoption Act,” she said. ”I’m not sure what more can be done.”

The director of the National Children’s and Youth Law Centre, James McDougall, said his organisation had argued to the committee that children, ”particularly children of families without legal recognition, wanted this change”.

Judy Brown, of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, said ”to suggest that same-sex couples may not adopt is, on the basis of all the evidence available, patently discriminatory and simply highlights ignorance and bigotry”.

Source – Brisbane Times

As more and more gay men set out to become parents, a new book by University of Iowa Professor Ellen Lewin explores their desire to become parents, the challenges they face along the path to parenthood, and how fatherhood affects their identities as gay men.

“Gay Fatherhood,” an ethnography published by the University of Chicago Press, is the result of interviews with nearly 100 gay men who have or are trying to have children. The book chronicles the men’s lives, investigating how they cope with political attacks from the right and left, including criticism from peers in the gay community who view parenthood as a sign of conformity.

“Many people can understand lesbian’s desire to have a baby because they appreciate the idea of maternal instinct,” said Lewin, professor of anthropology and women’s studies in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “They’re much more suspicious about why gay men would want to be dads, and therefore gay men have to jump through a lot more hoops to be parents.”

Adoption through the foster system is the most affordable way for gay men to become fathers, but Lewin discovered they are typically last in line in the system, meaning they must consider whether they will accept an older child, a child with disabilities, or a child of a different race.

“Straight, middle-class married couples get first pick,” she said. “Heterosexual singles come next, and then gay people of various sorts. Some states prohibit gays from adopting, but a lot of individual social workers realize these guys can be good parents and want to get the kids into homes. There are 100,000 kids in the system, half of which are available for adoption. Most will never get adopted and will remain in the system until age 18, so there’s a sense of urgency.”

Domestic adoption through a private agency can run $20,000, and some mothers will not select gay men to raise their babies. Options for overseas adoptions, which can cost up to $40,000, are limited. Guatemala is one of the few countries with rules flexible enough to allow gay men to adopt, but one partner is invisible during the process – and the fact that the adoptive dad is gay is not advertised. Surrogacy allows a biological connection to one dad but costs upwards of $100,000.

“They have to make choices about what they want versus what they can afford,” Lewin said. “In some cases, gay couples have more financial resources because they’re men, and men make more money. But for a typical middle-class gay couple, some of these options are out of reach.”

Source – and read more at newswise – related posting here

A Family of Choice: A Gay Man’s Story of International Adoption by Scottsdale, Arizona resident Paul Hampsch, candidly shares the experiences of a gay couple going through the process of international adoption.

Having been partners for many years, Paul Hampsch and his life partner, Domenic, made the decision together to adopt. But finding an adoption agency that would even consider allowing a single gay man and his partner to adopt was quite a challenge. With the support of friends and family, Paul was surrounded by blessings and felt sure he would eventually be able to adopt.

As time passed, Paul navigated a range of challenges, some of which tested his level of resolve in one way or another, but he was finally able to adopt and return to America with his children. His story is enclosed in these pages, and he tells his readers, “The bittersweet joy of parenting continues to make my soul complete…Each bend in the road leads to a new horizon.”

Paul Hampsch lives in Arizona with his two sons, Paul Jr. and Andrew. He currently volunteers at a local hospital emergency room, plays guitar, and loves to cook. Mr. Hampsch has also published trade manuals and training materials and is also the author of Marketing Is Relationship Building (1985).

A Family of Choice: A Gay Man’s Story of International Adoption is a 176-page hardcover with a retail price of $18.00 and is published by Dorrance Publishing.

- source – PRWeb

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation that will open up thousands of good homes to foster children.  On any given day, there are approximately 500,000 children in the child welfare system.  Over 125,000 of these abused and neglected children are waiting to be adopted.  There is an acute shortage, however, of adoptive and foster parents.  The result is that many children, particularly minority and special needs children, languish in foster care without permanent homes. The severe developmental, emotional, and educational costs to children raised in foster care are well documented.  The 25,000 youth who never find a permanent family and “age out” of the system each year are more likely than nearly any other group to become homeless, incarcerated, or suffer with mental illness or substance abuse.

Despite the shortage of adoptive and foster parents and the terrible consequences of long stays in the child welfare system, some states have enacted discriminatory bans prohibiting children from being placed with qualified parents due to the parent’s marital status or sexual orientation.  Currently, over 65,000 adopted children and 14,000 foster children are living with a gay or lesbian parent.  Studies suggest that upward of 2 million gay and lesbian individuals are interested in adopting or fostering a child.  Yet, statewide discriminatory bans and the practices of individual adoption agencies have resulted in fewer children being placed in safe and permanent homes.
 
Congress invests over $8 billion in the child welfare system each year and we should not accept policies that use Federal funds to enact barriers to adoption and close the door to thousands of potential homes.  Multiple studies have found that adopted and foster children raised by gay and lesbian parents fare just as well as their peers being raised by heterosexual parents. 

When considering a potential placement for a child, the only criteria should be what is in the child’s best interest and whether the prospective parents can provide a safe and nurturing home.  Bigotry should play no part in this decision.  That is why I am introducing the “Every Child Deserves a Family Act.”  This legislation would simply prohibit any entity that receives Federal child welfare funds from denying or delaying adoption or foster care placements based solely on the prospective parent’s marital status or sexual orientation.  States and child welfare agencies that fail to end discriminatory practices would face financial penalties.  This is the same approach that put an end to race discrimination in adoption and foster care placements.

Abused and neglected children in our child welfare system are some of the most vulnerable members of our society.  We cannot allow divisive politics to further harm these children by shrinking the number of prospective adoptive and foster parents.  I urge all of my colleagues to join me in saying yes to children and no to bigotry by cosponsoring the “Every Child Deserves a Family Act” and working with me to make it law.

The above is the text of Congressman Stark’s address to Congress on October 15. You’ll find the press release regarding Stark’s introduction of HR 3827 at this link.

The bill if passed would suspend funding to agencies which deny adoption rights to gay, lesbian, transgender and heterosexuals, based on sexual orientation or marital status.

While this bill will likely take some time, if ever, to come to a vote and will face fierce opposition from Conservatives, it is yet another example where “strong arming” may unfortunately be needed to bring full equality to the LGBT community.

You can see at this link how states currently regulate adoption rights for LGBTs.