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... Therefore, same-sex couples have found their own ways of having children. ... However, adoption is the most popular way for same-sex couple to have children.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the total number of children nationwide living with at least one gay parent ranges from six to fourteen million. ... ” They love each other and they need children to take care of. ... As a result, hundreds of thousands of children in this country are without permanent homes. Moreover, in states such as Arkansas the foster care system does such a poor job of caring for children that it has been placed under supervision (ACLU Fact Sheet). There are 500,000 children in foster care nationally, and 100,000 need to be adopted. But last year there were qualified adoptive parents available for only 20,000 of those children (ACLU Fact Sheet). It is reasonable that children without homes do not have the option of choosing between either a married mother and father or some type of parent. These children have neither a mother nor a father married or unmarried. If children who are not adopted cannot choose the parents, who is to say that other people should? ... When the 1997 Florida law prohibited gays and lesbians from adopting, Michael Adams, a staff attorney for the ACLU’s national Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, said, “This is a disappointing decision that fails to take to heart the best interest of children. Thousands of children without a family in Florida will have to wait for another day when this law no longer stands between them and loving parents” (“Judge Upholds Florida’s Ban On Lesbian And Gay Adoptions”). However, according to the ACLU, many states have moved to safeguard the interest of children with gay or lesbian parents. For example, at least 21 states have granted second-parent adoptions to lesbian and gay couples, ensuring that their children can enjoy the benefits of having two legal parents, especially if one of the parents dies or becomes incapacitated (ACLU Fact Sheet). ...
In 1997, New Jersey became the first state to explicitly allow lesbian and gay couple to adopt children jointly, just as married couples do. ... Texas opened adoptions to gays and lesbians because they were willing to parent HIV positive and drug-exposed children (Castellucci). ... Steven and Roger adopted five children that were HIV-positive at birth, two of them later died of AIDS. Steven and Roger try to create a real home for their children. Steven is the at-home dad, getting the children ready for school, taking them to swimming lessons and other activities.
Approximate Word count = 2154
Approximate Pages = 8.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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