During a panel on ABC's This Week
on Sunday, political commentator Cokie Roberts took on evangelicals
Franklin Graham, Ralph Reed and Dr. Russell Moore on gay marriage and
adoption.
When host Martha Raddatz asked Graham,
son of evangelist Billy Graham, about comments he made in support of
Russian President Vladimir Putin's crackdown on homosexuality, in
particular prohibiting countries that have marriage equality from
adopting Russian children, Graham suggested that gays “exploit”
children.
“Putin is going to do what's right
for Russia. And not what's right for America, but for Russia. We
used to have a president in this country that did what's right for
this country, but we don't seem to have that right now. Putin is
going to make these decisions that he thinks are best for the Russian
people. And he thinks that taking advantage of children –
exploiting children – is wrong for any group, and they've passed a
law.”
Reed, chairman of the Faith and Freedom
Coalition, expanded on comments made by Moore of the Southern Baptist
Convention. Moore rejected Putin's plan but stressed that he
believes kids need a mom and dad.
“The social science on this is
clear,” Reed said. “This isn't about Vladimir Putin. This is
about what's best for children here in the United States. The social
science is irrefutable. And it is that a child who grows up in a
home without the mother and father present – and they both play a
very unique procreative, nurturing and socializing role – they're 9
times more likely to end up dropping out of high school, they're 5
times more likely to end up in poverty, and they're 3 times ...”
Roberts interrupted to note that
children who grow up in an orphanage fare worse than those raised in
a home.
“And the fact that people are willing
to take these children and raise them and raise them in a loving way
is clearly better for these children,” Roberts said.
When Raddatz asked, “Would you rather
a child sit in an orphanage and not have gay parents?” Reed
answered that the social science is inconclusive.
“I think the law has every right to
set an ideal. And the ideal is a mother and a father … ,” Reed
started to say.
“The reason the numbers have changed
so dramatically on [gay marriage], first of all that ideal isn't true
in all kinds of families, the divorce rate being what it is and the
abandoned mothers. But it is also true … if we got better men,
we'd be in better shape,” Roberts said.
“People have come out of the closet
and said, 'I am your brother. I am your sister.' And then they have
seen these families raising children and see these loving families,”
Roberts added.
Later, Graham asserted that gays can go
to heaven, provided they repent for their sins.
“A lot of gay people feel they are
sinners but not because they're gay,” Roberts responded. (The
video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)