LGBT Adoption

Last week, the United States Supreme Court Supreme Court considered the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s same-sex marriage statute. “If you redefine marriage to include same-sex couples,” Justice Anton Scalia said, “you must permit adoption by same-sex couples. There’s considerable disagreement among sociologists as to what the consequences of raising a child in a single-sex family, whether that is harmful to the child or not.” 

Actually, though there are some dissenters who say that research is not definitive — and some states block gay couples form jointly adopting children — there’s a broad consensus among major medical, psychological and child-welfare organizations that children raised by gay and lesbian parents fare just as well as those raised by straight parents. Scalia’s comments angered many gay-rights activists, including attorney Camilla Taylor of Lambda Legal, who called them “dishonest and disingenuous” for disregarding the consensus among child-welfare professionals. So exactly where is this so-called research Justice Scalia is referring to?

LBGT Adoption

In a New York Times article this summer, writer Sabrina Tavernise traced the recent increase in gay and lesbian couples adopting across the country. This is in the face of legal hurdles in many states that make adoption by same-sex parents an especially daunting process. What’s behind these numbers? And will the upward trend continue? In fact, advocates point to two primary reasons for the increase: the need for homes for children who are waiting for adoption, and growing acceptance among Americans of gays and lesbians. According to data from Gary Gates, a demographer from the University of California, Los Angeles, 19 percent of same-sex couples who were raising children in 2010 reported an adopted child as a member of the household, up from just eight percent in 2000. Gates estimates that four percent of the adopted population in the United States -- about 65,000 children -- live in homes in which the head of the household is gay or lesbian.

Researchers from the U.S. Census Bureau recently examined the demographics of same-sex couple households with children. By analyzing Census data, it was found that 26.5 percent of lesbian couples had children in their household in 2008, up from 22 percent in 1990. For gay couples, the figure rose from five percent to 13.9 percent. Of course, not all of these children were adopted, but the numbers do point to an increased tendency among same-sex couples to raise children, and adoption is one way to do that. The sad fact is, the barriers remain even though research shows that sexual orientation does not impact one’s ability to be a good parent. Research findings provide favorable evidence to encourage the continued increase in adoptions by same-sex couples.

Currently there are 107,000+ children in the U.S. foster care system waiting for families. Total foster adoption numbers had been on the rise each year until 2010, when fewer than expected took place. But as the number of adoptions by gay and lesbian couples grows, there may be new hope for many of our nation’s waiting kids.

If you are in the Philadelphia-area and would like to learn more, we are holding an LGBT Adoption Cafe September 20. Details here.

Married Parents Needed?

The Arizona House of Representatives approved legislation on Feb. 23 that would give married couples preference in adoptions. The measure, which supporters argue is in the best interests of children, now goes to the state Senate for consideration. Opponents of the 35-22 vote on HB 2148 said research shows that the children of single parents do very well and that, if enacted into law, the bill could undermine the permanency prospects of some children in foster care – especially those with special needs. Critics also characterized the legislation as a covert means of discriminating against prospective gay and lesbian parents, since only heterosexuals can legally marry in Arizona.

What do you think of this Legislation? Is it discriminative?

Labor Day

Labor Day is fast approaching and we’re looking forward to celebrating the last holiday of the summer. (It seems like only yesterday that we fired up the grill to barbeque on Memorial Day.)

The gay and lesbian community in Vermont has another reason to celebrate this weekend. At midnight last Monday, a new law went into effect allowing same sex marriages. This brings to six the number of states in which this is legal. Along with Vermont, marriages for same sex couples are currently being performed in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa. Maine will allow same sex marriages this month; New Hampshire on January 1, 2010.

It is too soon to see how the new law will affect adoption by gay men and lesbians in Vermont, where LGBT individuals and same-sex couples may petition to adopt and a same sex partner may petition to adopt the partner’s child.

The number of gay and lesbian parents in the U.S. has been rising. In 1976 there were between 300,00 and 500,000 gay and lesbian parents. In 1990, an estimated 6 to 14 million children had a gay or lesbian parent.

According to statistics from the 2000 U.S. Census, the National Survey of Family Growth (2002) and the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting Systems (2004):

• An estimate 2 million gay and lesbian people are interested in adopting.


• An estimated 65,5000 adopted children are living with a lesbian or gay parent.


• More than 16,000 adopted children are living with a lesbian or gay parent in California, the highest number among the states.


• Gay and lesbian parents are raising four percent of all adopted children in the U.S


• Gay and lesbian foster parents are raising approximately three percent of the nation’s foster children.


• An estimated 13,000 foster children are living with lesbian or gay parents in the U.S.

As we celebrate the traditional end of summer holiday, we think of the 130,000 children in foster care through the country waiting to be adopted and hope that by Labor Day 2010, many of them will be in “forever” homes.

LGBT Adoption

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center Research Center reveals mixed views on adoption by LGBT couples. 48% of people surveyed oppose adoption by lesbian and gay prospective parents, while 46% of those surveyed are in favor. Those in favor of allowing adoption by LGBT prospective parents are overwhelmingly younger college graduates who are religiously unaffiliated. Men and minority groups tend not to favor LGBT adoptions. Gay marriage remains a major issue in the 2008 elections, and it is important to note that 54% of Democrats are in favor of lesbian and gay parents adopting, while only 31% of Republicans support them. Religious affiliation remains highly correlated to whether or not an individual supports adoptions by gay and lesbians: 29% of white evangelicals support this, while at 56%, almost twice as many mainline Protestants are in favor. 64% of those who are religiously unaffiliated support adoption by LGBT couples.

The laws regarding LGBT adoption remain unclear in many states and illegal in Florida and Mississippi. A recent court decision in Florida indicates that this may soon change. LGBT couples continue to petition for adoption while many children remain in foster care. What are your thoughts on the future of adoption by gay and lesbian families?