» Dan Savage Alarmed by Arkansas Anti-Adoption Measure

Portland sex columnist and gay daddy Dan Savage has an op-ed in the New York Times today drawing attention to Arkansas' Proposed Initiative Act No. 1, which passed last week and bans people who are "cohabitating outside a marriage" from adopting or serving as foster children. He writes, "The loss in California last week was heartbreaking. But what may be coming next is terrifying." [NYT]

  7 Responses
» Be Prepared…

"After a constitutional amendment banning gay adoption passed easily in Arkansas on Tuesday, Nov. 4, the leader of Texas’ statewide LGBT equality group said he fears a similar proposal here in 2009." [Dallas Voice]

  6 Responses
» Obviously…

"Rural and evangelical voters propelled Arkansas to adopt one of the nation's few bans against unmarried couples becoming foster or adoptive parents." [POQ]

  1 Response
» Prohibition.

More bad news for the gays: "Arkansas voters have approved a measure banning unmarried couples who are living together being adoptive or foster parents. The vote imposes a ban that the Legislature balked at authorizing. More than 56 percent of voters supported the ban, said by its proponents to be aimed primarily at keeping gays from becoming foster or adoptive parents. The measure's sponsor, the Arkansas Family Council, tried to paint its as a battle against a 'gay agenda.'" [POQ]

  13 Responses


Yohane Banda, the man who allowed Madonna to adopt his child and then used the situation repeatedly to bask in the media spotlight, is back at it after hearing news of the singer's divorce from Guy Ritchie.

Instead of offering up a respectable "no comment," the father had this to say:

I am still a poor farmer with nothing to offer, but maybe he'd be better off back with us. This woman, Madonna, told me herself that David was beautiful and made her happy and she promised to take care of him. Now I see him in a big bewildering crowd in the street with people pushing and shoving, and many cameras around, and without a mother and father to hold his hand. I'm feeling bad for him.

CONTINUED »

» Good Drop…

"Arkansas is dropping a plan to prohibit unmarried or same-sex couples from taking on foster children. The state Department of Human Services said Thursday it will stop a plan to formalize a policy in place since 2005. The agency says it will instead propose allowing workers to place foster children on a case-by-case basis. The action comes ahead of a November initiative that would let voters decide whether to prohibit unmarried couples from adopting or fostering children." [AP]

  1 Response
» Child Support.

"Three former chief justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court say they're opposing a ballot measure aimed at banning gay and lesbian couples from becoming adoptive or foster parents. Former Chief Justices W.H. 'Dub' Arnold, Jack Holt Jr. and Bradley D. Jesson were among 13 retired judges who issued a statement Monday opposing a proposed initiated act that would ban unmarried couples from adopting children or becoming foster parents. The judges said the proposal would limit their ability to choose the best home environment for children and said that child placement should be decided on a case-by-case basis." [Fox News]

  Respond
» Juvenile Priorities.

"…The Archdiocese of San Francisco's Catholic Charities plans to cut its relationship with an adoption agency that works to place children with homosexuals. Jill Jacobs, the executive director of Family Builders by Adoption, told Our Sunday Visitor that, 'the funding from Catholic Charities is ending this [budget] year.' The funding, which has been in place for two years, involved Catholic Charities CYO providing close to $250,000 each year for two staff members at Family Builders by Adoption." [CNA]

  1 Response


Michelle Kulstad's fight continues.

The Montana-based lesbian celebrated yesterday after a judge granted her parental rights over ex-girlfriend Barbara Maniaci's two children, whom Maniaci adopted while the gals were together.

Unfortunately for Kulstad, Maniaci's lawyer, anti-gay Alliance Defense Fund's Austin R. Nimocks immediately filed an appeal. And, naturally, his argument rests on hyperbole:

Nimocks said Thursday the case has "absolutely nothing to do" with Kulstad's sexual orientation.

"If Miss Kulstad was a man, we would still be in the case and making the same arguments," he said. "Are we going to start granting ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends parental rights just because they lived under same roof? If so, how far do we go? Granting acquaintances and roommates parental rights over the objections of fit parents is a very dangerous precedent."

Gawd! Those right-wingers are such drama queens!


Right-wing activists love to rail against gay adoption, largely because they think the gays are incapable of providing a stable, traditional household.

A non-partisan study says otherwise and reached a "universal professional consensus" that same-sex couples should universally be included in the adoption pool.

And the decision is motivated as much by children's needs as by economic reasoning:

"The pool of potential adoptive parents must be expanded to keep pace with the growing number of kids in foster care who are legally free for adoption," stated the report by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, which is based in New York.

Currently, about 129,000 U.S. children are in foster care, many of whom are older, have special needs and face grim prospects for finding a loving, permanent home.

Besides the emotional hardships, a national ban on gay adoptions could add $87 million to $130 million to foster care system expenditures each year, the report said, citing previous research. Not only would children who are removed from gay and lesbian homes be placed in group or institutional care, which is more costly, the state would incur the costs of recruiting and training new foster parents, researchers found.

And this nation cannot afford any extra costs.

» "Unconstitutional."

Meanwhile, in other Florida news: "A Monroe Circuit Court judge has ruled Florida's 31-year-old gay adoption ban "unconstitutional" in an order that allows an openly gay Key West foster parent to adopt a teenage boy he has raised since 2001." [Miami Herald]

  1 Response
» Outreach.

"New York state's Westchester County LGBT Child Welfare Network will hold a recruitment event Thursday, September 25 designed to share information with the LGBT community about how to become a foster or adoptive parent… The event is offered those who feel they don’t fit into the “traditional” nuclear family model – those who are single, disabled, older or LGBT. Parents and their children will speak about what it’s like to be a foster or adoptive parent." [Proud Parenting]

  1 Response


The majority of Brazil's gay boys and girls won't be adopting any time soon:

Brazil's lower house of Congress has rejected part of a pending adoption law that would have allowed gay couples to adopt children.

A Wednesday statement from the Chamber of Deputies says a measure giving gay couples the right to adopt was withdrawn because federal law doesn't recognize same-sex civil unions.

A proposal granting same-sex couples the same rights as married heterosexuals has stalled in Brazil's Congress for more than 10 years, prompting some states to take their own actions.

Southern Rio Grande do Sul state has permitted same-sex civil unions since 2004, and a Sao Paulo state court allowed a gay couple to adopt a 5-year-old girl in late 2006.

Brazil's Senate will now attempt to hash out the matter.

» Expansion…

Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie are adopting another baby from Malawi. About a year after adopting David Banda, the pop star and director have selected a daughter, called "Mercy." [The Sun]

  4 Responses

obama-baby-1-1.jpg
Barack Obama's same-sex love fest continues!

The presidential hopeful not only expanded his gay efforts this week, but the Senator also clarified his position on gay adoption and other family matters.

The statement comes after pro-gay Family Equality Council - spurred by John McCain's prohibitive comments last month - pressed Obama and his Republican rival on their respective positions.

CONTINUED »



Queerty Team

Editor
Japhy Grant

Editorial Director
David Hauslaib

Publisher
Jossip Initiatives

Our Network

Jossip The gossip's gossip sheet

Mollygood Splaying celebrities from A- to D-list

Stereohyped Once you blog black, you never go back

About

Advertise

Privacy

RSS

 
Copyright 2008 Jossip Initiatives LLC