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Caitlyn Dudley English 1 Block 4 Mrs. Knowles 19 March 2014 My Two Dads: Gay adoption Michael George was a latch-key kid. He rode his bike everywhere with his friends, he collected Star Wars action figures, he swam in the city pool, and he was a band geek but not a good one. In the winter, they kept his beagle, Buster, in the house, and he would howl next to George when he played his trombone. He eventually moved to California to attend Pomona College. When he was presented with the opportunity to spend the summer in Russia, he took it. Along with that, he spent a semester in Prague and a summer in London before earning his bachelors degree in international relations. Next was a tour with the Peace Corps in Armenia. To earn his masters degree, he moved to Washington, D.C. to attend the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. In 2000, a friend introduced him to Chad Lord. Lord, a lobbyist with the National Parks Conservation Association, was another small-town product with a childhood dog named Buster. He moved from Minnesota to D.C. as a young man and began his career working in HIV/AIDS advocacy. His first full-time job was with the human rights Campaign. One day, when George had just finished a long day of work and then studying in classes, he had gone outside to see that Chad was waiting there with a flower. The next evening, Lord mentioned that he wanted to have kids. They became legal domestic partners in 2004 and knew they would marry when the District of Columbia legalized same-sex marriage in 2010, marrying in 2011. A lot of adoption agencies are religiously based so they had trouble finding an adoption agency. Once they found one, they needed to complete a home study process to prove that they could provide a fit home for a child. They had a few misfortunes, the first social worker

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assigned to their case leaving before the file was complete and the second caused a delay when a report went missing. When the file was completed more than a year later, they had to find a birthmother so they made a Facebook page. They got a call from a woman claiming that she was pregnant with twins and showed them an image. The agency uncovered the hoax, revealing that the image could be found via internet search (Johnson 4-7). They are still searching for a birthmother. If they can adopt, why shouldnt other gay couples be able to. Gay adoption should be legal in all states because many children dont get adopted and everyone should be able to have a family. Many children in the United States dont get adopted. CourtneySimone Irador Flynn Farrell acknowledges that The Child Welfare League of America states that over 117,000 children each year are passed over for adoption (2). Farrells point is that so many children annually dont get adopted. More couples would be looking for children to adopt if homosexual adoption were legalized. This would result in more children being adopted. Farrell argues that many (often older) children with behavioral, emotional, and developmental problems from neglect or abuse dont get adopted (2). If a same-sex couple wants a child bad enough, they could adopt these children. In having such a determined and caring family, the child is sure to get the love and support they require. This would make both the child and the parents happy. Everybody should be able to raise a family. Its not fair that some couples can have children and some cant just because of their sexual orientation. Its everybodys American right. Its something that some couples really want. Farrell claims that according to the 2000 US Consensus, about 25% of gay and lesbian couples are raising children. Regardless of local decisions and state laws, these families live in at least 90% of all counties in the US (1). If they are going to do it anyway, why not allow it? Not to mention, Farrell emphasizes that currently,

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58% of Americans under the age of 30 support gay and lesbian adoption, and 55% of collegeeducated adults of all ages weigh in on this side of the debate (2). Many people are on this side of the argument. A great amount of people will be glad for this to happen. Many people argue that gay couples are not suitable to raise children. They are just as capable though, if not more. Farrell observes that research has demonstrated that gays and lesbians are just as stable, nurturing, protective, and supportive of children as heterosexuals. The research also shows that children cared for by gays and lesbians are just as well adjusted as children raised by heterosexuals. In short, it is a fact that the sexual orientation of parents has no bearing on the childAs a matter of fact, same-sex parents are more capable of teaching children the necessary skills to deal with ridicule that comes as a result of homophobic attitudes. Several studies have shown that children who learn to cope with social stigma are better equipped to defend themselves and resolve conflicts, including derogatory comments in regard to race, ethnicity, or social class. Among the parenting skills sought by social workers are patience to work with at-risk children, respect for differences, and the dedication to raise children that are not related by blood.In research studies, gays and lesbians rate higher in these qualities than heterosexuals because of their previous experiences in dealing with conflict and discrimination (1, 2).This shows that not only are homosexual parents very stable but their children often learn important traits that they might not have with heterosexual parents. A lot of people assume that if a childs parents are gay, the child will grow up to be gay. This is completely inaccurate. If it were the case, then all children with straight parents would be straight and this is obviously not true. If people knew the truth, we could get same-sex adoption legalized in every state. This would be beneficial to everybody. All couples could be able to fulfill their dream of raising a

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family. More children could get adopted and live in a happy new family. More children could know significant skills that they wouldnt if they werent adopted or had been adopted by another family. More people could benefit from meeting more people with those traits. Why would anyone oppose that?