Gay Adoption Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Gay Adoption - Research Paper Example Now gay marriage seems to be becoming more acceptable according to a poll done by The Associated Press and the National Constitution Center. â€Å"Fifty-three percent of the 1,000 adults surveyed believe the government should give legal recognition to marriages between couples of the same sex . . . Forty-four percent were opposed† (CBS News). Gay adoption actually is legal in most states, but that does not stop some states and some adoption agencies making it difficult for same-sex couples to adopt. This is despite the large number—over half a million—children languishing in foster care ready and wanting to be adopted. Those in favor of allowing same-sex couples to adopt cite the high numbers of children in foster care needing forever homes. They also claim that it is discrimination not to allow gay couples who have been deemed suitable parents, and who can provide a loving and stable home, to adopt. The courts agreed with them and laws have recently been establi shed that prohibit discrimination against people based on sexual orientation. Because of these anti-discrimination laws, many states no longer allow adoption agencies to discriminate against a gay couple seeking to adopt a child based on the couple’s sexual orientation, but that argument has taken a 360 degree turn. Adoption agencies that oppose gay adoptions say that they are being discriminated against because of their religious beliefs. Some states refuse to recognize same-sex couples’ adoptions in other states. In the end, what has really occurred is a stubborn right-wing anti-gay faction in this country rejects any belief but their own and will not recognize the rights of same-sex couples to adopt children. They refuse to budge and use every tactic they can to promote their agenda even if it means harming children. Several religious adoption agencies have claimed that since they believe homosexuality is against the teaching of the bible, they should not be require d to place children in the homes of gay couples who wish to adopt them. Todd Flowerday says, â€Å"Historically the Catholic Church has invested a great deal of its charitable efforts in the care of orphaned children, but recently adoption has become a battleground for concerns about religious freedom.  The church is reluctant to place children with parents it deems inadequate—most prominently gay and lesbian couples—and these policies often run afoul of state antidiscrimination laws.  Rather than compromise, some Catholic agencies get out of the adoption business altogether† (Flowerday). That, however, has not affected the number of children being adopted. Many other adoption agencies, perfectly willing to follow the law and to continue to match children needing homes with parents who want them, have stepped in. But, another problem has arisen because of this issue. After a Catholic diocese in Rockford, Illinois dropped its state contract with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Service, three other dioceses sued to be exempt from the law that prohibits Catholic, or any other, adoption service from discriminating against gay and lesbian couples. In fact, these adoption agencies must assist these couples in their search for a child. With the injunction in place for who knows how long, the adoption agencies in those three dioceses can continue to deny same-sex couples their rights to adopt a child. What really bothers some people is that instead of thinking of the children as one would expect the Catholic Chur