Adoption Laws for Gay Couples: More Flip Flops in the State of Arkansas

Living in Arkansas, I find that the laws regarding adoption are unethical at best.

I've turned the channel on TV many times after finding that the latest law concerning gay couples adopting children has been once again changed.

If you wish to check out the State's position on the issue this week go to:

Arkansas Code then on to Family Law Title 9, Subtitle 2, Sections 9-9-101 to 9-9-103; 9-9-201 to 9-9-224; 9-9-301 to 9-9-303; 9-9-401 to 9-9-412; 9-9-501 to 9-9-508.

I have my own point of view and I believe it to be the only way to help these kids get into a loving family. There aren't enough adoptive families out there now to nurture and care for these children, so who is our Government to say that one is not capable of nurturing a child into adulthood because of their personal life preferences behind closed doors? This infuriates me, as it does many. Isn't is policy to not mix politics and religion? I know this is why these laws are constantly 'reviewed' and adjusted and it is wrong.

Not wrong to have religious beliefs, but wrong for our paid public servants to spend countless hours and hundreds of thousands of tax paying dollars debating it, when meanwhile back at the 5th of 17 foster homes, sits a very confused little child who cannot progress to adulthood in an emotionally healthy manner due to continuous upheaval by nameless faceless masses who are supposed to be taking care of their best interests.

A ridiculous twist, but progress:

Let's ad yet another element to this ludicrous situation. Surrogacy and the gay factor is totally acceptable. Arkansas has a very open stance on this, and both gay parents can have their names on the baby's birth certificate. Additionally, the parents are not required to be married (see below for evidence of this stupidity) which is probably a good thing since it won't happen in Arkansas.

Wonderful, so surrogacy is allowed, but people who are gay cannot adopt because?

In 2004 Judge Timothy Fox stated that there is no evidence to suggest that children are at risk of emotional or physical abuse by being placed into the homes of gay couples, and there is also nothing to substantiate claims that heterosexual couples are more able to provide a stable home for children than their gay counterparts.

October 4, 2007:

KARK Channel 7 reported that the decision to ban gay couples from fostering or adopting may go to the public vote this year. However, for this to happen, some 80,000 signatures must be acquired to have the proposal put on the ballot. They will not be getting my autograph anytime soon. Just prior to this report, the Family Council Action Committee had been unsuccessful in getting this initiative approved by the 'powers that be'. May I add, that this proposed ban also prohibits unmarried heterosexuals from fostering these adorable kids.

This ridiculous inclusion ruffles my feathers even more. If you have read a previous article of mine here;

At one of many appearances in court, my husband's visitation rights were immediately terminated when his ex wife complained to the court that it was "an immoral and distressing environment for my children to be with an unmarried, non church going couple" So? (I'm guessing it simply slipped her mind that she had lived in a defacto relationship herself for 2 years but had since remarried) She lied in the court as she was well aware we had been married for over a year and that she had refused to allow the children to attend their own Father's wedding. As a consequence it cost us $3,500 in legal fees, a finding of contempt against my husband, and 7 months without seeing the kids to correct this. Mind you, we only had to fax our Marriage License to the Judge's Office for confirmation, but the shuffling of paper is not such a speedy process, apparently.

The point is, these laws need to be altered to allow all kids the right to a loving ,nurturing home - without prejudice, without bias, with gay people, with people of ethnic origin, depsite people's religious beliefs, married or not........

If our politicians are not meeting the needs of these children, then their position needs to be terminated since they have not fulfilled the job requirements.

Sources:

American Civil Liberties Union. ACLU

KATV Channel 7 Little Rock, Arkansas