Do gay and lesbian (same sex) couples make good parents? Do heterosexual couples make good parents? In my line of work, I have not had any encounters with same sex couples, but have had many encounters with heterosexual couples and although I do work in child welfare, I have seen many heterosexual couples make very poor decisions when it comes to their children. Would this be the same with same sex couples? I doubt it, there may be few if any child abuse reports on same sex couples. I know that this is my opinion, but I feel that same sex couples are secure with themselves and only want to have and lead good lives. I feel that same sex couples would make just as good or better parents than heterosexual parents. We cannot choose our parents, and as long as there is love and nurture being provided to a child then why should it matter what someone's sexual orientation is. I did attend high school with a girl whose mother was a lesbian. This was 12 years ago, and of course, we were young and naive. We did think it was weird back then, but my have the times changed in the past 12 years. I do not even think twice about seeing or being around same sex couples. I feel that everybody has the right to be a parent until they do something to jeopardize that right. If the safety of a child is questioned and a child is placed in the foster care system, she/he is left there until his/her parents may or may not step up to the plate. My answer is no, but there are over 500,000 children in foster care. What can be done about this? Oh, I know let gays and lesbians adopt.........
5 comments:
I feel that it is okay for gay and lesbian couples to adopt. Society over the years have stereotyped gay and lesbian couples as not being able to take care of children. Gay and lesbian couples have become almost a norm in today's society. My opinion is gay and lesbian couples should be able to adopt otherwise children would just linger in foster care. As long as someone is trying to provide love, support and safety to children without abusing or neglecting them, then who are we to judge as to who are capable of raising or adopting children. Some children are abused and neglected with having heterosexual parents. So if there are gay and lesbian couples that are willing to care for a child as their own then there should not be any circumstances of keeping them from adopting children.
I agree with you anonymous butterfly. There is an overwhelming amount of children who are in foster care who need and desire a family. I am sure they are not going to care about their new parents sexual orientation. Yes, sometimes it does make a child's life a little more difficult if their parents are not heterosexual but if the same sex parents handle it properly they can prepare that child for the adversities associated with being in a family that is not quite the norm. A person's sexual identity does not dictate what type of parent he or she would be nor does it define who they are completly. It is only one aspect of their being not their whole being.
I think this is an expansive topic - we could, as the survey says, agree or disagree, but whatever we believe, gay and lesbian families happen. There is research on the outcomes for kids raised in gay and lesbian homes. But what we don't know, what we can't know because of state laws and who knows what else, is how adopted kids fair, how foster and former foster kids fair. I'd like to know. I wonder if it would be so different from birth kids. And I wonder if parenting exerts the same stressors on the couples.
The art of rearing children is that it is done by responsible people in all situations. We have not lived out the creed of a simple and pure value system for quite some time. All children need caring and inspiring people to provide nurture, love, and affection so they can develop into productive citizens. Unless we are concluding that people who live alternative lifestyles have a diminished capacity to care, then gay and lesbian couples possess the physical and mental makeup to effectively parent children. There are certain things the can not provide a child in some situations, but the overwhelming things the can give are stability and love. If you do not know sexual preference of a person then is it all right to assume that a person would suffice the parenthood test. Are gays and lesbians being wrongly ostracized for fear they will corrupt straight children’s mental makeup. Therefore, if we allow this to happen the gay community will slowly creep up the majority groups in this country. We do not want children languishing in the foster care system, but then we find discriminatory ways to oppress suitable adoptive parents. They are not going anywhere soon, so give them an opportunity to parent children.
I am a big advocate for gay rights. We are all human, and all capable of loving and caring for a child regardless of ANY of our personal preferences and beliefs (unless those preferences or beliefs involve molesting or abusing children). I think that especially with the situation of adoption, which is a lengthy process, anyone who is going to put the effort into going down that path has obviously put a lot of thought into the situation and should surely be a suitable parent. And, as for any possible difficulties that the child may endure growing up, this will not be the result of having gay or lesbian parents, but because of society's narrow and negative beliefs about such people. As long as the parents teach open-mindedness and forgiveness, the children should lead normal and fulfilling lives even in the face of adverse reactions.
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