Same sex marriage is a union or a relationship between individuals of the same sex. They could either be males or females. Over the past decades this union has continued to elicit some mixed reaction among members of the society some supporting it while others oppose it. However, its proponents have managed to make notable moves as it is due to their relentless efforts that some legislation in its favor have been passed in states such as California, New England, Massachusetts, Iowa and Connecticut.
Having made that achievement, they have continued to further their rights and now they want them to be accorded the right to adopt children a sentiment that is today among the hotly debated and this has somehow polarized the American society between opponents and proponents. This paper focuses on whether same sex couples should be allowed to adopt or not and will take a stand to support it. Although the issue of adoption is a controversial one, there are those in the same marriage that raise children either gotten from previous heterosexual relations or through artificial inseminations.Apart from these ways of owning a child, there are those that prefer adopting but this depends on ones state. Currently it is only four states that have allowed child adoption and they include New Jersey, Massachusetts, California and Vermont. Other states such as Florida are vehemently opposed to adoption of children by same sex couples.
This was a result of the successful campaign that was launched in 1977 by Anita Bryant aimed at challenging gay rights that had been ratified by the Dade’s county (Belge, 2009).There are a substantial number of orphans in the united states that are at the moment housed in foster homes. The current statistics about the number of those who are orphaned does not reflect the true picture of the actual number of those that are affected. This is because, children that are a bit old are hard to establish. Contrary to what many would expect statistics that were released in 2000 shown that it is only 24 percent of the American homes that consist of both married father and a mother (Child Welfare Information Gateway, August 2004). The remaining homes have either one parent or no parent at all.
Furthermore, contrary to how a Florida court argued that children raised in families headed by heterosexual parents fare well than those raised by other forms of parenthood, a scientific researches conducted shown that those raised by same sex couples be they lesbians or gay fare socially and emotionally well just like those brought up by heterosexuals. “Scientific studies have shown that children who grow up in one or two-parent gay or lesbian households fare just as well emotionally and socially as children whose parents are heterosexual” (Belge, 2009)Also, studies done by the American Association of Pediatrics show that it is not ones sexual orientation that determines how children become well socially adapted but it is ones parental interactions (Belge, 2009). For this reason, it is preposterous to deny same sex couples who wish to adopt these children the right to do so. There are a number of orphaned children who are yet to be recognized and are at the moment suffering and yet no one is willing to assist thus these couples should be given an opportunity to help them (Clifford, 2004).
According to Moe (2007), it is in the best of interests of the orphaned children if same sex couples are allowed to adopt children. Legally in the United States, children with both parents are entitled to social security fund, family’s health insurance and other forms of insurances in the event of their parents getting incapacitated but if the custody of the child is not legally recognized then, such a child cannot be eligible for the same. If one can become legally recognized as a parent in artificial insemination by the virtue of giving birth then there is no rational explanation that can be given not to allow these couples adopt.This is because a legal custody of the child can be acquired by the two parents. In that case, if something bad happens to one of the parents then the other one would take care of the child unlike in states where this is not allowed.
Taking into consideration that some states have recognized same sex marriages as any other form of relationship and gone ahead to pass legislations that protect such relationships and making them eligible for social benefits such as social security and family health insurance, there is no good reason why adoption rights should not be extended to them.In doing this, orphans that have no one to take care of them would be in a better position to be taken care of and even enjoy the family status that they would never enjoy if are not adopted (Clifford 2004). There is no reason for not allowing same sex couples from being allowed to adopt. For example the New York and Californian discrimination law allows the adoption of children and therefore application to adopt by same sex couples cannot be rejected by a social worker but this depends on whether this is allowed in that state or not.
If there are doubts about the integrity of the applicant, then a case can be filed in court where it is the judge who would have the final say “If a homosexual couple want to adopt from the public child welfare system, they should look into their state laws…social workers in these states cannot reject applicants because of their sexual orientation” (Clifford 2004; 64). On the other hand, socially, a nuclear family is deemed to be the best environment for raising children.Here they are able to learn how to be good fathers and mothers as they learn this from their heterosexual parents and grand parents unlike in gay or lesbian marriages where children adopted are raised by same sex couple thereby denying them a chance to learn the nature of both gender and the chances are that they too will become homosexuals due to the parental influence. In societies where heterosexual relationships are deemed ideal, children raised might be subjected to ridicule by other children who would constantly make fun of them.
This may cause stress and depression and in extreme cases lead them to commit suicide (Moe, 2007; 105).Opponents of same sex couples adopting children argue that those parents should not be entrusted with the role of bringing up children as they might at one point be tempted to abuse the same children they are supposed to protect. This is the same argument that was used in Florida by Anita Bryant in 1977 to ban adoption of children by same sex couples. “Anita Bryant led a statewide campaign to over-turn Dade County’s gay rights law. Claiming that gays and lesbians were child-molesters, Bryant was able to convince state senators to vote for a ban on gay adoptions” (Belge, 2009)According to the evidence provided above, it can be concluded that same sex couples should be allowed to adopt children.
Contrary to what many believe that most of the families have both parents, this is not true as research show that only 24 percent have both parents. Furthermore, researches have also shown that children raised by parents of the same sex grow just like those brought up by heterosexual parents. What this means is that there are many children that could be adapted irrespective of ones sexual orientation and thus they should not be denied the chance of having a stable family.Referenceshttp://lesbianlife.about.com/cs/families/a/adoption.htm
