Gay Adoptions Have Tripled

I sort of find it ironic that many people in this country don't want The Gays to have marriage equality, because, you know we'd ruin it for everyone. And there are some folks who don't even want The Gays to adopt, because, you know, we turn kids gay and stuff.

But now comes the news that the number of gay couples adopting has tripled in the last decade, from about 6,500 to some 22,000 in 2009.

Tripled. Which makes me wonder if the number of hetersexual couples adopting has made such a startling increase. See, if they don't want The Gays to adopt, and they don't want to do it, would they just prefer that these children remain in foster care and orphanages?

Just wondering. Now, back to our featured story.

While several states specifically prohibit same-sex couples from adopting jointly, there are others with discriminatory policies on the books that make it difficult for gays and lesbians to adopt either as individuals or as couples.

Some states, however, have eased restrictions on gay families. Earlier this year, the Arkansas Supreme Court rejected a voter-approved initiative that barred gay couples and other unmarried people living together from becoming adoptive or foster parents. And Virginia now allows married couples and single people to adopt or become foster parents, regardless of sexual orientation, though it continues to bar unmarried couples--gay or straight--from doing so.

Even Florida stopped enforcing its ban on gay adoptions last year after a decision by a state appeals court that the three-decade-old law is unconstitutional.

"It's a stratospheric increase. It's like going from zero to 60. I think many really dreamed of doing this but it wasn't something they ever thought would become a reality," said Miami attorney Elizabeth Schwartz of the increase in gay couples adopting. Schwartz has personally coordinated more than 100 adoptions for gay and lesbian families in the last year.

Sidenote: Elizabeth Schwartz is an old friend of Carlos' and I met her years back in Florida, so it was nice to see her mentioned here. She is quite an advocate for the LGBT community.

According to the Adoption Institute, 60% of U.S. adoption agencies accept applications from gay parents, and some 40% have knowingly placed children with gay families. But some adoption agencies have bucked the rules, saying it's unfair to force them to go against their religious beliefs by coordinating adoptions for gay families.

Catholic Charities, for one, has refused to recognize Illinois' new civil unions law and allow gay couples and others living together outside marriage to be foster or adoptive parents. Their refusal forced the state to try and end its multimillion-dollar contracts, but a judge temporarily allowed Catholic Charities to continue working with the state.

But Adam Pertman, executive director of the Adoption Institute, feels that even with some state laws being dicriminatory, and some groups refusing to place children with gay singles or couples, that all is not lost: "If one agency doesn't serve you and you're gay, then another agency will. You don't need 100% agency participation. The bottom line is, if you're gay or lesbian in America and you want to adopt, you can."

And gay people are now. in record numbers.


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