Another Study Proves: Gay Parents Rule
March 25, 2006: As many states consider putting anti-gay adoption measures on the ballot (in what most observers call a cynical move to mobilize conservative voters to come to the polls) another major study from a respected and objective source has come out proving that LGBT people make great parents. Below is highlights from an article on Gay.com, read the whole story here:
Children adopted by gays and lesbians fare no better or worse than those raised by heterosexual adults, and barriers preventing gay parents from adopting should be removed, said a report released Friday by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, entitled “Expanding Resources for Children.”
“Based on both the available research and growing experience,” the report concludes, “adoption by gays and lesbians holds promise as an avenue for achieving permanency for many of the waiting children in foster care.”
The report is part of an extensive yearlong project intended to provide a research-based context for the ongoing debate over adoption of children by gays and lesbians. Report findings include:
- Children reared by gay and lesbian parents fare comparably to those raised by heterosexuals on a range of measures of social and psychological adjustment.
- Tens of thousands of children in the foster care system are disadvantaged by laws that bar gays and lesbians from adopting them.
- Even in states that don’t bar gays and lesbians from adopting, individual agencies and workers sometimes discriminate against gay and lesbian applicants or don’t realize that gay parenting is permitted.
“The bottom line is that adoption by gays and lesbians is a fine thing to do,” Adam Pertman, executive director of the Adoption Institute, told the PlanetOut Network. “There is simply no credible research showing that children are harmed when they’re adopted by gay and lesbian parents, but lots of evidence to indicate that they do well in those homes.”
Less than half of the approximately 110,000 children available for adoption find homes every year, so it makes no sense to restrict the pool of eligible parents, according to Joe Kroll, executive director of North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) in St. Paul, Minn. On its Web site NACAC states that all prospective foster and adoptive parents, regardless of sexual orientation, should be given equal and fair consideration. NACAC also opposes rules and legislation restricting the consideration of parents based on their sexual orientation.