gay adoption

[bullseyebarb]

One of the most spirited and illuminating threads. By the time I got to it it was already quite long and I have spent more time reading it than I actually had to spare this afternoon. But it was worth it. What a can of worms this topic unleashed! Interesting stuff.

[Gayle]

Originally Posted by jambutty

Is it too much to ask that everyone respects the OPINION of another and they just present their own OPINION without all the nastiness that happens? Thus anyone reading the whole thread can make a balanced judgement on the issue and decide for themselves if they need to change their opinion or not.

I guess maybe it is!

There were a lot of people arguing all different points in this argument and the only one that is crying abuse is you. Can I suggest that it is possibly your tone that sets people off so that they either a) want to lighten the mood or b) disagree with your points in the same tone that you write?

[garinda]

Gay and lesbian couples should not be allowed to adopt children even if a gay man’s sperm is used with a volunteer woman or a lesbian is impregnated artificially by a donor.

OK! Fire away!

No amount of vetting will tell if the prospective adopter is likely to try and groom a child Gayle.

And now I’m going to bed. I’m not running away I’m just kna oh! I mean tired.[quote Jambutty]









By posting inflamatory views like that, and hinting that people might not agree with you, it's no suprise the majority of people who've posted in this thread disagree with you.

It isn't quite the attack your paranoia seems to think it is.

You have made your point, albeit with no facts to back up some of your claims, and the fact that the majority of posters don't agree with you, does not constitute an attack.

[WillowTheWhisp]

Gay and lesbian couples should not be allowed to adopt children even if a gay man’s sperm is used with a volunteer woman or a lesbian is impregnated artificially by a donor.

Hmmmm - I wonder what would happen (if that were the case) to a lesbian ex-neighbour of mine who gave birth to and brought up a lovely daughter all on her own after splitting with her partner? Would that child have been wrenched away from her loving natural mother?

[garinda]

Anti-Gay Arguments Unfounded
Opponents of gay adoption use several arguments to make their case. First, they say children who are denied the unique contributions of a father and mother experience developmental complications. An anti-gay group, Concerned Women for America, argues, "Homosexual couples compound adopted children's distress by denying them a parent of one of the sexes and then exposing them on a daily basis to a homosexual relationship."[ix] Opponents of gay adoption assert that children of gay and lesbian parents are more vulnerable to teasing and harassment, and that the resulting damage to the child's self-esteem is contrary to the best interests of the child. Studies have been conducted which disprove this theory. Ellen Perrin's 2005 research concluded that children growing up in same-sex households do not necessarily have differences in self-esteem, gender identity, or emotional problems from children growing up in heterosexual parent homes.

Gay adoption opponents also argue that children with gay or lesbian parents will become gay, or develop terrible psychological problems. According to the American Family Association, children of gay parents are exposed to "a lifestyle scientifically proven to increase children's exposure to...mental illness, life-threatening disease...plus the documented risk that the children themselves will be more likely to engage in homosexual behavior as adults."[x] In fact, children with gay parents display the same incidence of homosexuality as the general population of the U.S. According to the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, "on measures of psychosocial well-being, school functioning, and romantic relationships and behaviors, teens with same-sex parents are as well adjusted as their peers with opposite-sex parents. A more important predictor of teens' psychological and social adjustment is the quality of the relationships they have with their parents."[xi]

A third common argument against gay adoption is based solely on fear. Some claim that children raised by gay parents are more likely to be sexually abused. This is a misrepresentation of the highest order. According to Concerned Women for America, children of gay parents are more at risk because "the incidence of domestic violence among gay men is nearly double that in the heterosexual population...and slightly more than half of [lesbians] reported they had been abused by a female lover/partner."[xii] These figures are misleading because they surveyed the entire gay and lesbian population, rather than focusing on those couples that were in a monogamous relationship and ready for parenting. In addition, there is no legitimate scientific research connecting homosexuality and pedophilia.[xiii] In a 1994 study involving 269 cases of child sex abuse, only two of the offenders were gay. In cases involving molestation of a boy by a man, seventy-four percent of the men were in a heterosexual relationship with the boy's mother or a female relative. The study concluded that "a child's risk of being molested by his or her relative's heterosexual partner is over one hundred times greater than by someone who might be identifiable as being homosexual."








http://online.logcabin.org/issues/re...-families.html

[WillowTheWhisp]

I can't see where people get the idea from that a child being cared for by two adults in a permanent long term relationship is likely to be groomed for sex - why would they? Surely the people who want sex with children are less likely to be in a permanent adult relationship aren't they? Or am I being dim here?

[Gayle]

Something occured to me - one of the arguments is that gay couples will teach their adopted child gayness - bringing out the statistics to show that it makes no difference is one thing but I have another point ------

Why does it matter? Even if having gay adopted parents DID produce a gay child, why is that in the least bit relevant? What exactly is wrong with having another gay person in the world?

[WillowTheWhisp]

Good question Gayle.

[Ianto.W.]

The Lancashire Telgraph reported last night, that the Government was not making any exceptions for the Catholic Church or anyone else, But Tony Blair said they would get 21 months to prepare for the change calling this "a sensible compromise" (apologies if this has already been posted as I have just crawled out of bed)

[WillowTheWhisp]

It has already been posted but I'm curious to know how the Catholic church will use those 21 months. I anticipate it being a winding down process leading to closure. Hopefully the government will ensure that there is in place some substitute care for those families with children already placed who would have received follow up help from the Catholic adoption service.

[Billcat]

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

It has already been posted but I'm curious to know how the Catholic church will use those 21 months. I anticipate it being a winding down process leading to closure.

Or, perhaps those agencies will just continue to exist, but with the connection to the Catholic Church severed? While closure is one option, I don't think that it is the only choice.

[WillowTheWhisp]

Originally Posted by Billcat

Or, perhaps those agencies will just continue to exist, but with the connection to the Catholic Church severed? While closure is one option, I don't think that it is the only choice.

I don't understand that. As 'those agencies' are actually run by the Catholic church how could the connection be severed?

[flashy]

Right When You Lot Have Stopped Waffling On About This.....it Doesnt Really Matter What We Think, Yes We All Have Our Own Opinions And Rightly So, But We Cant Change A Things Can We? Its Up To Those Pratts In The Church, And If The Wazzocks In Parliament Got There Fingers Out They Would See There Would Be No Harm In It *shaz takes a deep breath and wanders off*

[WillowTheWhisp]

Originally Posted by flashytart

Its Up To Those [people] In The Church, And If The[members] In Parliament Got There Fingers Out They Would See There Would Be No Harm In It

Now you're confusing me! Do you advocate parliament making allowances for the Catholic church?

[flashy]

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

Now you're confusing me! Do you advocate parliament making allowances for the Catholic church?

i am all for gay adoption, but when it comes down to it willow it all goes through parliament, everything in life does