SHOULD GAY COUPLES BE ALLOWED TO ADOPT? PRO

Adoption is a gift to couples who cannot have children of their own or for couples that choose to take in children who don’t have parents.

One heated debate is the question of whether gay couples should be allowed to adopt. Opponents of gay adoptions argue that it is unnatural and unhealthy for children. Gay advocates claim that homosexuality is a viable sexuality that should be accepted by mainstream America. Lost in the adoption debate is the fact that same-sex couples would not raise an adopted child any differently or provide less care and love.

While gay marriage is allowed in Vermont and Hawaii, it is not available in any other states. Many claim that if homosexual couples are not allowed to wed, they should not be allowed to adopt children. Single parent adoption is a common trend in today’s society. Therefore, one would think, “If single men and women can adopt children, why can’t loving same-sex couples?” However, many same-sex couples cannot.

Opponents of gay adoptions say that homosexual parents are bad moral examples for their children. There are, however, many good gay parents who prove that gay people can make fine parents. There is not evidence to support the assumption that parent’s sexual preference factors into a child’s development. My father is heterosexual and likes women, but this never factored into my childhood or development.

Another argument of anti-adoption activists is that gay parents would prey on their own children. This is a joke. Every study ever done by the American Psychological Association and American Psychiatric Association has shown that there is no evidence linking gay people to pedophilia. Homosexuality is defined as an attraction to adult people of the same sex. Pedophilia is an attraction to children. In a study of 269 sexual child abuse cases, only two offenders were gay or lesbian.

Currently, there is a shortage of qualified adoptive parents. Nationally, there are 500,000 children in foster homes and 100,000 need to be adopted. If states and adoption agencies are worried about abuse received from homosexual foster or adoptive parents, then why aren’t they concerned about the abuse children currently receive in foster homes?

Many feel that homosexual parents will turn their children gay. Most homosexuals have straight parents, so therefore this argument is invalid. Even so, if gay parents did turn their children gay, what is so wrong with that? Last time I checked homosexuality was not a crime.

Homosexual couples receive a large amount of prejudice from mainstream America. It is still not socially acceptable to be attracted to those of the same sex. Adoption agencies worry that children of gay parents will suffer from excessive taunting and prejudice. But all children suffer from taunts. Is another person’s prejudice really a reason to restrict and ban someone from being a parent?

Homosexuality is, in my opinion, a moral issue — an issue that should not affect whether a couple should be allowed to raise a child. Heterosexual couples can raise homosexual children. Why can’t homosexual couples raise heterosexual children? Adoption is truly a gift. It is a gift that should be given to everyone, regardless of sexual preference.