Well here’s a bit of good news: An Arkansas circuit court judge knocked down the state’s 2008 voter-approved ban on unmarried couples (read: the gays) from adopting children or acting as foster parents. Why? Because it’s unconstitutional, Judge Chris Piazza ruled, by “burden[ing] non-marital relationships and acts of sexual intimacy between adults by forcing them to choose between becoming a parent and having any meaningful type of intimate relationship outside of marriage.” Also, the ban is not in the state’s interest, reducing the pool of prospective parents unnecessarily. Dustin McDaniel, the attorney general whose office defended the law in court, has not decided whether to appeal. But the Family Council, which launched the voter drive, certainly will! Oh, what a legacy Mike Huckabee has left.
cubbie
Right there is Mr. Huckabee’s home state. LOVE IT…
Dylan
So glad this got struck down. Hopefully they don’t try to appeal. But even if they do, I’m confident the first ruling will still hold. Being gay does not keep ANYONE from being a good parent. Hopefully conservatives will realize this. All children deserve a loving home.
Chas Emerson
As a gay Arkansan I am ecstatic about this. Whatever view you may have of gay marriage, in a country where we have more children in the care of the state than we have homes for , why does it ever make sense to reduce the number of qualified parents? Gay parents, in my view, are very well equipped to parent as that they have a strong desire to do so. After all, there are no accidental pregnancies involved in gay relationships so only those who truly do want to be a parent go through the process of adopting/fostering children. Bravo Judge Piazza for finally applying some common sense, and the constitution to this unjust law.
Zach
I wonder if Jerry Cox and the rest of the POS that got this passed will mention the fact Arkansas foster care has been undergoing a top to bottom review for the past year and a half due to kids in the system being abused,neglected and killed. Clearly those Christian families they promised would adopt all these kids never showed up.