Can Lesbian and Gay couples make appropriate parents for children?
Having grown up in a family that shared nearly all household duties, I never knew much of a difference in who did what so long as it got done. Even the differences that did exist, the things that were only done by one parent or the other, could be explained by expertise. Of course my father was the only one who worked on cars, he was a mechanic by trade. My mother was in charge of how we looked, she is a cosmetologist. However, we remodeled our house several times, and my mother played nearly as vital a role in the work that got done as my father did, and they both had input on the design. My father always cooked and did laundry and dishes and cleaned just like my mother. Those views trickled down to us, so even though my parents came from households that were more strictly structured in regards to duties, I think it is more modern for families to share responsibilities.
That being said, the arguments presented by both sides of the issue of homosexuality seem to suggest that common beliefs center around the idea that certain duties (parenting) are in fact separated as they pertain to heterosexual relationships versus homosexual ones. Those opponents of discrimination of adoption rights to homosexuals (APA) center their support on the lack of evidence correlating the effects of homosexuality on child rearing. However, the lack of evidence does not suggest that a correlation doesn’t exist, but rather that experience is needed. While I do agree with the APA’s conclusions that homosexuality is not a mental illness, that lesbians are no less maternal than other women based on orientation, and that being in a homosexual relationship does not demand any more time than a heterosexual relationship, I do not necessarily agree that no correlation exists. However, I also do not believe that discrimination regarding adoption should occur. While I believe that children would benefit from the variance in viewpoints that a typical heterosexual relationship provides, it cannot be said that no homosexual relationships can provide this as views are a construction of one’s intersectional identity. And while I have a hard time believing, as nearly all homosexual individuals are teased/taunted in their lifetime, that children with homosexual parents are likely to be taunted for this reason on top of any others that so many kids are bullied for, I also believe that intolerance is the basis for most problems.
Those opponents to homosexual adoption provide mostly misguided arguments. Just because some states prohibit the adoption does not imply the moral correctness of the act itself. Regardless of the inflation of the numbers presented by proponents, there are still many homosexual couples that desire to and could in fact provide a better home than many heterosexual couples. They even go so far as to say that homosexuals are incapable of being in a committed, monogamous relationship and that the roles of parent and homosexual partner are mutually exclusive, that trying to fill both roles only promotes instability (they provide no evidence to substantiate these claims). While I self identify as heterosexual and therefore prefer that relationship with children, I can see no concrete evidence to support the discrimination of the latter. The only way to gather support for either side is to allow this adoption to occur and given the number of kids looking for loving homes, it is even more wrong to deny based on sexual orientation.
Those currently making the laws and rulings regarding child placement (i.e. Florida case) are members of the older generations that saw different, and obviously less tolerant values and ideals. Will members of younger generations be more tolerant than their predecessors when law is based so deeply in precedent? Is a separation of morality from religion and historical view possible? Is it practical?
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