| About this site |
| About us |
| Our beliefs |
| Your first visit? |
| Contact us |
| External links |
| Good books |
| Visitor essays |
| Our forum |
| New essays |
| Other site features |
| Buy a CD |
| Vital notes |
| Spiritual/ethics |
| Spirituality |
| Morality/ethics |
| Absolute truth |
| Peace/conflict |
| Attaining peace |
| Religious tolerance |
| Religious hatred |
| Religious conflict |
| Religious violence |
| Laws and news |
| Religious laws |
| Religious news |
|
|
 | Florida and New Hampshire had laws forbidding adoption by homosexuals; |
| Arkansas, Missouri, North Dakota and Virginia had legal precedences in which courts ruled that gays and lesbians are automatically unfit as parents because of their sexual orientation. |
| California, Minnesota, New York and New Jersey had laws or regulations which specifically permit homosexual adoption. |
| The remaining 40 states and the District of Columbia had no laws either forbidding or permitting adoption by gays or lesbians individuals or couples. |
Recent developments: Since that book was published, there have been many changes. Some are:
| 2000-MAY-2: CT: The state legislature passed a bill which allows adoption by homosexuals and unmarried heterosexuals. 3 |
| 2002-MAY-3: MS: Governor Ronnie Musgrove of Mississippi signed a bill into law that bans homosexual couples from legally adopting children. Religious reaction was split: "The state's top Episcopal leader urged its defeat. Baptists and Methodists lobbied for it." 3,4 |
| 2002-AUG-21: PA: The state Supreme Court unanimously decided that the existing state law was "absurd." It allowed a same-sex couple to legally adopt an unrelated child, but prevented a homosexual from adopting his/her partner's child. This decision overturned an earlier ruling by the state Superior Court in the year 2000. |
| 2003-NOV-14: ND: The state Supreme Court unanimously overturned a 1981 decision that had been used to deny lesbian and gay parents custody of their own children. The decision leaves only four states - Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Virginia - where courts still deny custody based on sexual orientation alone. |
In California the adoption situation is complex. Since 1985, "second-parent" adoptions, in which one partner's child is adopted by the other, have been frequently granted. They are used mainly by lesbian couples. However, in the fall of 2001, a San Diego appellate court ruled that no legal authority existed which permitted such adoptions. The legal status of more than 10,000 California adoptions instantly became indeterminate. Pat Logue, counsel for the gay-positive Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund said: "It’s outrageous. This decision destabilizes the lives of thousands of children, exactly the opposite of what adoption is intended to do." A few months later, on 2002-JAN-1, California law AB 25 took effect; it grants domestic partners the right to second-parent adoptions. Carole Migden had introduced that bill to the legislature. She planed to propose another bill that would "grandfather in" the adoptions made prior to 2002, and place them on a firm legal footing. 5,6
As of 2006-FEB-20, we are filling in this section with information during 2004 to the present.
See also our essay on foster parenting by same-sex couples.
References:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
- "Can homosexuals adopt?," at: http://family-law.freeadvice.com/
- Larry Burtoft, "Setting the Record Straight: What Research Really Says About the Social Consequences of Homosexuality", Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, CO, (1994), pages 74 to 78
- "Homosexual Adoption Page," People for the Way Truth and Life, at: http://thepwtl.50megs.com/adoption.html
- "Homosexual Adoption Page," People for the Way Truth and Life, at: http://thepwtl.50megs.com/adoption.html
- "Big adoption issue goes to high court; Same-sex families to be affected," San Francisco Chronicle, 2002-JAN-30, at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?
- Barbara Curtis, "Analysis: Gay adoptions get boost from new California law, support from pediatricians," Christian Times, at: http://www.christiantimes.com/Articles/
|
Site navigation: Home page > "Hot" religious topics > Homosexuality > Parenting > here |
Copyright © 2002 to 2006 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2002-NOV-6
Date of last update: 2006-FEB-21
Author: B.A. Robinson
|
|
