Gay and Lesbian Parenting: TALKING POINTS

(1)     Florida’s gay adoption ban was passed in 1977 at the height of Anita Bryant’s anti-gay “Save the Children” campaign. This law has done significant damage to children in foster care by not allowing the best interest of the child to be considered on a case-by-case basis.  Curtis Peterson, the lead Senate sponsor, said upon passage of the ban, “We’re trying to send [homosexuals] a message.  We’re really tired of you.  We wish you’d go back into the closet.”

(2)     A poll, released January 22, 2009 by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, found that a clear majority of Floridians, 55% to 39%, believe the Florida legislature should repeal the ban. Click Here for the polling information.

(3)     Destructive impact on children – over 4,500 children languish in Florida’s foster care system today. The adoption ban arbitrarily excludes hundreds, if not thousands, of potential parents based solely on the irrelevant criteria of sexual orientation.  These adults could provide stable, loving, PERMANENT homes to many of these children if this ban were lifted.

(4)     In 2003, the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute released a research study, stating, “reality on the ground is outstripping the pace of the debate. That is, a growing number of lesbians and gay men are becoming parents and are living as families every day, irrespective of what the policymakers do or say.”  Click Here for the complete research study.

(5)     There is no credible scientific evidence that the sexual orientation of parents has any effects either on the quality of parenting or on the well-being of their children.  In fact, the reliable social scientific evidence indicates that lesbian and gay parents are as fit, effective and successful at parenting as their heterosexual counterparts.  (See American Academy of Pediatrics February 2002 Policy Statement, Vol. 109, No. 2, pp. 341-344)

(6)     Decades of research indicate that optimal development for children is based not on the sexual orientation of the parents, but on stable attachments to committed and nurturing adults.  Children with two parents, regardless of the parents’ sexual orientation, do better than children with only one parent.  (American Psychiatric Association 11/2002 policy statement)

(7)     Adoption decisions should be based on an individualized assessment of what is in the best interests of the child to be adopted.  Applicants should be assessed on the basis of their ability to successfully parent a child in need of family membership and not on irrelevant considerations such as sexual orientation.

    (8)   Regardless of what policy makers do or say, gay Floridians are raising children and legal protection is necessary for these children.  Families have been created by adopting in other states, artificial insemination, previous heterosexual relationships and family tragedies such as the death of a sibling.

CHILD WELFARE, SOCIAL SCIENCE and PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORT ADOPTION by GAY PEOPLE.

• Child Welfare League of America
• American Medical Association
• American Psychiatric Association
• American Academy of Family Physicians
• American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
• North American Council on Adoptable Children
• National Association of Social Workers
• American Psychological Association
• American Psychoanalytical Association
• American Bar Association
• American Academy of Pediatrics

o       The reliable social scientific evidence indicates that lesbian and gay parents are as fit, effective, and successful as heterosexual parents. ( See American Academy of Pediatrics February 2002 Policy Statement. Vol. 109, No. 2, pp. 341-344.)

PARENTS' GROUPS IN FLORIDA

STATE ORGANIZATIONS

Organizations United Together - OUT - click here - Organizations United Together, Inc. (OUT) is a federation of Florida local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied organizations dedicated to achieving  equality and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Floridians.  By connecting and empowering local organizations throughout the state to share resources, skills and knowledge, OUT aims to forge our statewide strength to achieve common goals.

Equality Florida - click here - Equality Florida is a statewide education and advocacy organization dedicated to eliminating discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender and class.

 NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS   

Family Equality Council - click here - Family Equality Council is proud to be the national non-profit organization dedicated to securing family equality.