Homosexuals & Mental Health

[Pharaoh]

Originally Posted by ziggytrix

I'm neither for nor against gay adoption, however, gay couples wishing to make a lifetime commitment do not have the same legal recognition as a straight couple, so the right to adopt is moot.

However, Pharoah, if having gay parents is not a problem when one of the parents is a biological parent, then I fail to see why it should be a problem when they are both only legally parents.

In our current society the stigma of homosexuality (in this case the stigma of having gay parents) is not something I would wish upon anyone, so on those grounds I cannot say I'm for gay adoption rights. But I have to wonder if a gay couple would not provide a better home for a child than an orphanage. Isn't that the bottom line?

A new law that went into effect last week means that same-sex couples are allowed to adopt children in the UK now, and they can have the same legal recognition as a straight couple since December last year, so it's not moot here anymore.

For me, the important difference is that the child has a mum or dad looking after them if one of the parents is a biological parent. It would be dad and his partner, or mum and her partner. It isn't ideal at all but it just has to be coped with if it happens.

A child who's adopted by a gay couple though doesn't really have any mum or dad, they've just got two men or two women, you can't really have two dads, it's too odd, and it can be avoided by not allowing gay adoption. It doesn't have to happen and I don't think it should.

A child who's adopted by a straight couple has a mum and dad and can be just like anyone else although possibly a gay couple would provide a better home for a child than an orphanage, I agree, but it's a risk.