Holmes 1

Lauren Holmes
HELA II
Rager-6
18 February 2015
Should Gays and Lesbians Be Allowed to Adopt Children?
Inequality is a fundamental issue in life that humans have struggled with since the
beginning of time. No matter how hard we try theres always been those who are on the top and
those who are on the bottom. This has been seen between different races and even different
genders and is still seen today but the one thats been coming up more recently is with Gay
Rights. In most religions being gay or lesbian is considered to be a sin and just plain wrong.
Despite this many states have passed laws giving Gays and Lesbians the right to marry but some
are still hesitant. People are also hesitant to let Gays and Lesbians adopt children due to some
irrational fear but the truth is Gays and Lesbians are not worse than anyone who is straight and
they deserve all the same rights.
The people who are against Gays and Lesbians adopting dont have any real evidence or
proof that clearly shows that these people are unfit to raise a child. In an article by Paul Cameron
and Ellen C. Perrin they said they are unaware of a single child being disturbed because his
mother and father were married" (Cameron and Perrin).
This is not true because there have been thousands of abusive marriages and any children
of these couples are scarred for life. They grow to resent the fact that the abused parent insists on
staying married to the abusive one. These children are worse off than one whose only baggage is
that they have Gay parents.

Holmes 2

The foster care system is overflowing with children who are in desperate need of a family
to adopt them but there is a severe lack in people who are willing to adopt and those that do want
perfectly healthy babies.
This would be less of a problem if Gays and Lesbians werent ruled unfit based on their
sexual orientation.
While there is no solid proof that Gays tend to want to adopt older children or special
needs children by expanding the adoptive parent pool more of these children will get adopted.
Plus these kids have suffered being parentless for so long that they dont really care who adopts
them as long as they love them.
In an article Jeanne Howard stated that "When you create obstacles that limit the supply
of adoptive parents, you are abandoning some of the most fragile children in Michigan to the
vagaries of an overburdened foster care system," (Howard). By turning these people away and
banning them from adopting we are denying these kids their right to have a family and to be
loved.
One problem is that the older generations have grown up and been taught that being Gay
is wrong and the younger generations have grown up around people who are proud to be Gay
and have become more accepting of them. This is a problem because these younger generations
are not old enough to vote and dont have a voice and so Gays rights will continue to be denied.
In an article Lauren Ritchie pointed out that Decent-minded people today realize how wrong
and cruel such discrimination was, and 50 years from now a new generation will roll its
collective eyes at the notion that gays were still fighting in 2014 for the right to marry and adopt
children, (Ritchie).

Holmes 3

Some people have used testimonies from children with Gay or Lesbian parents as proof
that they are unfit to adopt but what they fail to mention is that its not the parents sexual
orientation that are causing their kids grief its those who discriminate against Gays that are the
problem. One of these testimonies was from a 9 year old girl: My biological mother is S. and
my other mother is L. We've lived together for a year. Before that L. lived across the street....My
mom met L.; L. had just broken up with someone. We moved in together because it got
complicated going back and forth every night. All of a sudden I felt like I was a different person
because my mom was a lesbian....I get angry because I can't tell anybody about my mom. The
kids at school would laugh....They say awful things about lesbians...then they make fun of me.
Having lesbian mothers is nothing to laugh about....I have told my [mother] that she has made
my life difficult, (Cameron and Perrin).
In this testimony one can clearly see that its not the girls moms sexuality that is causing
her to be depressed, its the kids at school that bully her and the ones who would discriminate
against her mom if she told them she was a Lesbian.
Many Anti-Gay people have said that there are studies that show children with gay
parents are way worse off than those who have both a mom and a dad.
In an article Shannon Corregan provided evidence that suggests otherwise when she
included results from a study. According to these results children raised by Gays and Lesbians
are vulnerable to the exact same things as children of a straight couple.
Discrimination against Gays and Lesbians has been around for a long time and it will
always be there. What people need to understand is that the only thing they have to back up their
arguments against Gay adoption is their own opinions. Peoples rights should not be able to be

Holmes 4

denied based on anothers personal belief. Until this happens America cannot truly be called a
free country.

Holmes 5

Works Cited
Cameron, Paul, and Ellen C. Perrin. "Q: Does Adoption by Gay or Lesbian Couples Put American
Children..." Insight on the News. 22 Apr. 2002: 40-43. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 17 Feb.
2015.
Dickerson, Brian. "Adoption Bills Put Religion Ahead of Kids." Detroit Free Press. 18 Sep. 2013:
A.9. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
Corregan, Shannon. "Remove Same-Sex Adoption Hurdles." Times-Colonist. 18 Jul. 2014: A.11.
SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
Ritchie, Lauren. "Gay Parents Who Adopt Find Acceptance." Orlando Sentinel. 29 Jun. 2014: J.1.
SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.