On Friday, The Washington Blade,
a Washington, DC gay weekly, ran an editorial by Robert A. Bernstein
where he argued gay parents - on average - make better parents than
their heterosexual counterparts. Bernstein based his conclusions on
a very simple, if obvious, fact: “Unlike heterosexuals, same-sex
couples don't become parents by accident, or because of parental or
cultural pressures.” Gay families are created solely from love –
couples seek out children. Vital information, no doubt, if you plan
on answering questions on the subject of gay adoption from a New
York Times reporter. Yet, those seemingly obvious facts were
quite hidden from view for Senator John McCain on Sunday.
The Republican presidential hopeful -
like President George W. Bush - does not believe gays and lesbians
make good parents and stated that he does not believe gay people
should be allowed to adopt children.
“I think that we've proven that both
parents are important in the success of a family. So, no, I don't
believe in gay adoption,” McCain told the New York Times.
In Think Progress' Wonk Room, guest
bloggers Winnie Stachelberg and Robert Gordon quickly gathered facts
to refute McCain's remarks. Stachelberg is the Senior Vice President
for External Affairs at the Center for American Progress Action Fund,
and Gordon is a senior fellow.
“There's a reason that nearly every
child welfare organization in the country, from the American Academy
of Pediatrics to the Child Welfare League of America opposes bans on
adoption by gays and lesbians, and no state has followed Florida's
lead in banning these adoptions. About 130,000 children wait in the
foster care system each year for a permanent, loving home. And every
year, half of these children are never placed, and 20,0000 children
“age out” of the foster care system without ever finding a
permanent home.”
“A ban on certain adoptions
eliminates potential parents and wastes child welfare agencies' time
and resources implementing it – in Texas alone, a ban would cost
more than $75 million over 5 years.”
“Does John McCain really think
hundreds of thousands of children should sit in foster care and
orphanages while we wait for “Ozzie and Harriet” families to
appear?” Stachelberg and Gordon asked.
Pro-gay group PFLAG – whose sole
mission is to support families – took greater offense at McCain's
remarks: “...Senator McCain would deny loving homes to children
who desperately need them simply because of an outdated prejudice
about what a family may look like,” said Jody M. Huckaby, executive
director of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
(PFLAG) in a prepared statement.
“We are disappointed and saddened
that a public leader who is himself an adoptive father would deny the
children in America's foster care system the opportunity to thrive as
part of a welcoming family. Love makes a family, but short-sighted
positions like Senator McCain's can certainly tear families apart,
too.”