From Times Online:
Andrea Williams of Christian Concern For Our Nation said: “This is a significant step forward for Christian freedoms in that the Council has agreed not to force Mr and Mrs Matherick to act against their Christian beliefs. This should be of enormous encouragement to all Christians who want to take up the important role of caring for vulnerable children.”
SAN FRANCISCO Archdiocese halts same-sex adoptions at Catholic Charities Spokesman points to stance taken by new archbishop
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/03/21/BAG03HRJEC1.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06031602.html
" In an uncommonly clear and straightforward statement, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Denver has publicly voiced the problem with homosexual adoption. James H. Mauck, President of Catholic Charities Denver, has stated that, "It is apparent that there are some who wish to compel Catholic Charities to place children with couples whose life choices run contrary to the values and beliefs of Catholic Charities and many other non-profit child placing agencies. This demand is imprudent and wrong."
Catholic Charities agencies around the United States are reacting to the decision of their counterpart in the Archdiocese of Boston to discontinue adoption services after the state refused to budge on a requirement that the organization permit homosexual adoptions. (see coverage: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06031003.html )"- John-Henry Westen, 16 Mar 2006
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060315-104031-9711r
" Momentum is growing across the United States to limit or ban same-sex adoptions, a report said Wednesday.
However, the opposition -- while still divisive -- is "not nearly as inflammatory as gay marriage," said Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center for the People and Press"- United Press International, 15 Mar 2006
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/feb/06022010.html
"Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and a top government leader have told a group of bishops that their request that Catholic institutions be exempt from placing foster children with same-sex parents will be denied.
“My understanding is that any exemption would require legislation and would not be something I would be authorized to do on a personal basis,” Romney said, according to a Boston Globe report. He has in the past indicated that he is opposed to same-sex “marriage.”-Terry Vanderheyden, LifeSiteNews.com, Feb. 20, 2006
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-02-20-gay-adoption_x.htm
"Efforts to ban gays and lesbians from adopting children are emerging across the USA as a second front in the culture wars that began during the 2004 elections over same-sex marriage.
Steps to pass laws or secure November ballot initiatives are underway in at least 16 states, adoption, gay rights and conservative groups say. Some — such as Ohio, Georgia and Kentucky — approved constitutional amendments in 2004 banning gay marriage. (Related story: Both sides cite concern for children)
"Now that we've defined what marriage is, we need to take that further and say children deserve to be in that relationship," says Greg Quinlan of Ohio's Pro-Family Network, a conservative Christian group."- Andrea Stone, USA Today, Feb. 20, 2006
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jan/06011608.html
" A decision by Scottish lawmakers to allow same-sex couples to adopt has been condemned by Roman Catholic prelate Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who warned that the measure would make Scotland’s orphans “guinea pigs in some distorted social experiment.”
The Cardinal has asked that Catholic adoption agencies be allowed a “conscience clause” to exempt them from the ruling, so as not to be forced to place children in homes with same-sex guardians. O’Brien is worried that Catholic adoption agencies would eventually be forced into placing children with same-sex couples." - Terry Vanderheyden, LifeSiteNews.com Jan 16, 2006
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/sep/05091203.html
"About 4,600 people joined the March for the Family Belgian pro-family coalition to rally against a government proposition to legalize adoption by homosexuals Saturday.
Michel Ghins, co-organizer and professor of philosophy at the Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve spoke at the march. “This march for the family is not an action against homosexuals, who deserve all our respect but we refuse that they be put at the same level of equality when it comes to the union between a man and a woman,” he said. Ghins added, “Men and women have specific roles in the education of a child. We publicly claim the right to the family.” During his speech, Ghins further commented that a child needs affection and stability, which only a family based on the complementarity of men and women can provide. "- LifeSiteNews.com Sept. 12, 2005
http://www.whnt19.com/Global/story.asp?S=3048236
NASHVILLE, Tenn. A bill to ban gay couples from adopting children was amended in a Tennessee House subcommittee today.
It now no longer explicitly prohibits adoptions by homosexuals.
Instead, the bill now gives preference to married couples seeking to adopt.
http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/statenews/a0035780.cfm
by Wendy Cloyd, editorial coordinator
A bill that would make it illegal to place an adoptive child in a homosexual home will be up for consideration on Tuesday—and your help is needed to ensure Tennessee legislators will support the bill.
The Tennessee House of Representatives Subcommittee on Domestic Relations will consider a bill Tuesday that would make it illegal for the state's Department of Children's Services to place adoptive children with homosexual couples. The bill, HB 775, would also outlaw the use of state money for homosexual adoption.
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/2/92005b.asp
By AFA Journal
February 9, 2005
(AgapePress) - Raising questions about a conflict of interests, a pro-family leader claims that the co-author of a 2002 study of the children of homosexual couples is not a researcher but a propagandist.
Joe Glover, president of the Family Policy Network in Virginia, said that he was puzzled by the work of University of Virginia professor Charlotte J. Patterson, who co-authored a study which claimed that the children of lesbian couples are as happy and well-adjusted as children living in traditional homes. In addition, the study recommended -- as steps toward "breaking down legal barriers to maintenance of parent-child relationships in families headed by gay and lesbian parents" -- repeal of all sodomy laws, legalization of same-sex "marriage" throughout the U.S., and legalization of adoption by same-sex couples as well as "second-parent adoptions" (adoption of the children of the other same-sex partner).
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/29/politics/29marry.html
By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: January 29, 2005
Are children worse off being raised by gay or lesbian couples than by heterosexual parents?
Responding on Thursday to a question about gay adoption, President Bush suggested that they were.
"Studies have shown," Mr. Bush said in an interview with The New York Times, "that the ideal is where a child is raised in a married family with a man and a woman."
http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2864121
HOUSTON A Galveston woman whose daughter was adopted by her former lesbian partner has lost a court battle to regain sole custody.
The Texas Supreme Court declined to hear a request by Julie Ann Hobbs to dismiss a lawsuit filed in May by Janet Kathleen Van Stavern. That lawsuit seeks joint custody and standard visitation of the 6-year-old girl.
http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/3718.article
Published January 20, 2005
WASHINGTON (BP)--In a victory for pro-family groups, the U.S. Supreme Court refused Jan. 10 to hear a challenge to Florida's ban on homosexual adoption.
Without comment, the high court refused to review what experts consider the nation's toughest law against adoptions by homosexuals. While Florida, Mississippi and Utah all prohibit homosexual couples from adopting, Florida goes a step further by preventing homosexual singles from adopting.
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/1/112005a.asp
By Allie Martin (AgapePress) - The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to consider the constitutionality of Florida's law forbidding same-sex adoption. The court's refusal to review the case marks the end of a legal challenge seeking to have that law declared unconstitutional. Mathew D. Staver is president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit litigation, education and policy organization which filed an amicus brief supporting the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruling supporting Florida's law against homosexual adoption. The Liberty Counsel spokesman is calling the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the matter a major victory.
January 11, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/11/politics/11scotus.html?oref=login
By LINDA GREENHOUSE
Published: January 11, 2005
WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 - The Supreme Court refused on Monday to hear a challenge to a Florida law that prohibits gay men and lesbians from adopting children.
Florida's is the only such statute in the country, and the prohibition is the only categorical adoption ban on the state's books. Florida evaluates adoption applications from all other would-be adoptive parents, including those who have failed at previous adoptions and those with a history of drug abuse or domestic violence, on a case-by-case basis.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/10/national/main665942.shtml
WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2005
The Supreme Court rejected an appeal Monday by four men who challenged Florida's ban on adoption by gay couples, avoiding another contentious fight over gay rights.
Florida is the only state with a blanket law prohibiting homosexuals from adopting children, but the high court was told that other states could now feel free to copy the ban.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/10/politics/09cnd-scot.html?oref=login&oref=login
Published: January 10, 2005
ASHINGTON, Jan. 10 -- The Supreme Court declined today to hear a challenge to Florida's ban on adoption by gay people, the only such state law in the country.
The justices refused without comment to consider an appeal by four Florida men who had argued that the 1977 law violated their rights to equal protection under the United States Constitution, and that it was irrational because it automatically excluded potential adoptive parents for abandoned children.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1104759344046
Tony Mauro
Legal Times
01-05-2005
Gay rights returns to the Supreme Court's agenda Friday, at the justices' first private conference of the new year.
The Florida gay adoption case, Lofton v. Secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families, is one of dozens of cases the Court will discuss at its conference with an eye toward granting or denying review.
By LISA LEFF, Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO--Proponents of gay marriage told a judge that arguments over whether marriage
is designed to foster procreation and whether gays make good parents are
irrelevant to their case.
In briefs filed Friday, the couples' lawyers pointed out to Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer that California's Legislature and Supreme Court have already settled the procreation-parenting question by allowing gays to have children through adoption or reproductive technology.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/krmiami/20041120/lo_krmiami/gaygroupfightsforrighttoadopt
Sat Nov 20, 3:52 AM ET |
BY GAIL EPSTEIN NIEVES, gepstein@herald.com
The Coalition for Fair Adoption announced its formation Friday and said members will make a coordinated effort to repeal Florida's ban against adoption by gays -- the only such law in the country.
"In the end, it is the thousands of children languishing in our foster care system who are hurt the most," Stratton Pollitzer, the group's South Florida director, said on the steps of the Miami-Dade County Courthouse. "We are asking that people take an honest, unbiased look at the research on gay and lesbian parenting and on this adoption ban. The evidence is overwhelming: Sexual orientation plays no role whatsoever in a person's ability to be a good parent."
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/152004d.asp
By Rusty Pugh
November 15, 2004
(AgapePress) - A Christian lawyer who feels it is just common sense to prohibit same-sex couples from adopting children is defending against a challenge to an Oklahoma law dealing with that very issue. An attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund has filed a motion to intervene in federal court on behalf of an Oklahoma lawmaker and a pro-family group. ADF's clients in this case are seeking to defend an Oklahoma law that does not allow same-sex couples to adopt. Three same-sex couples have filed suit contesting the state law. However, ADF-member Brent Olsson of the Oklahoma City law firm Huckaby, Fleming, Greenwood and Olsson, believes the State has the best interests of the children in mind. "I think the bulk of sociological science will indicate that children are best raised where you have a father figure and a mother figure," he says, "and that is the common sense of Oklahoma's approach."
http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=61500
Dale O'Leary on the Stress for Kids PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, NOV. 5, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Adopted children of same-sex parents face the deprivation of either a mother or father and the strain of living in an unstable and unnatural situation, according to a researcher in the field.
Dale O'Leary, a writer and researcher for the Catholic Medical Association , shared with ZENIT how same-sex parents give their children a second-class upbringing by exacerbating normal problems that adopted kids experience.
Part 1 of this interview appeared Thursday.
Q: What's the difference between a child being adopted by a same-sex couple and by a heterosexual couple?
O'Leary: If children adopted by married couples ask, "Why was I given up for adoption?" what will the children who are given to same-sex couples ask? Will they not wonder why their mother would give them over to a permanently and purposefully mother-less or father-less family?
And how does adoption by a same-sex couple—which gay activists admit can expose the child to social stress—protect a child from the stigma of being raised by a single mother?
http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=61437
Dale O'Leary on the Risks
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, NOV. 4, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Despite the large number of securely married people waiting to adopt children, same-sex couples are often regarded as desirable adoptive parents with equal qualifications.
So says Dale O'Leary, a writer and researcher for the Catholic Medical Association.
She shared with ZENIT how adoption agencies have disregarded evidence that persons with same-sex attractions are far more likely to suffer from psychological disorders than the general public, and how those risk factors can negatively affect children.
Part 2 of this interview will appear Friday.
Q: What is the growth trend of children being adopted by same-sex couples or individuals with same-sex attractions?
O'Leary: I do not have any research showing this, but the anecdotal evidence suggests a dramatic increase in such adoptions.
Recently, I spoke with a woman who has adopted a number of special needs children and is extremely active in the adoption movement. She said that she has observed a dramatic increase in adoptions by same-sex couples.
She believes that the social workers in the adoption field are disproportionately homosexual themselves or are extremely sympathetic to homosexual adoptions and are directing children to same-sex couples, when there are married heterosexual couples available. She is extremely concerned about this trend.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041001/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_gay_adoption_1
Fri Oct 1, 4:07 PM ET
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union asked the Supreme Court on Friday to hear its challenge to Florida's ban on adoptions by gays.
In a 40-page filing, the ACLU argued the nation's only such blanket prohibition violates the Constitution's equal protection clause because it singles out one class of people, homosexuals. Children also are disadvantaged because they are deprived of caring parents, it states.
The Supreme Court should "make it clear once and for all that states may not pass laws to express their disapproval of gay people and particularly may not do that on the backs of society's least fortunate," according to the brief.
In July, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused in a 6-6 vote to hear the challenge after a three-judge panel ruled against four gay men, foster parents seeking to adopt children in their care. The panel had ruled the question should be decided in the legislature.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040930/lf_afp/afplifestyle_spain_gays_040930135343
Thu Sep 30, 9:53 AM ET
MADRID (AFP) - The right by homosexual couples to adopt children will reportedly be added to draft legislation legalizing gay marriages to be adopted Friday by Spain's Socialist government.
The new law would guarantee married homosexual couples the same rights as heterosexual couples as far as divorce, alimony or child support payments, inheritance, citizenship and adoption, the left-leaning daily "El Pais," which said it had obtained a copy of the draft law, reported.
It said homosexual couples, however, would only be allowed to adopt Spanish children to avoid any legal wrangles with other countries.
http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0409/17/g07-276448.htm
Friday, September 17, 2004
Gay adoption limited
By David Eggert / Associated Press
LANSING — An attorney general’s legal opinion that same-sex couples married in Massachusetts cannot adopt a child together in Michigan has angered gay rights advocates and others who said Wednesday it disregards children’s best interests.
The opinion, written by Attorney General Mike Cox, said a same-sex marriage performed in another state is invalid in Michigan and therefore precludes that couple from obtaining a joint adoption here.
“It’s an anti-family opinion,” said Beverly Davidson, president of the Coalition for Adoption Rights Equality, which supports same-sex adoptions. “There are a number of children in our state who need permanent homes. Limiting who can adopt them is a disservice.”
While the Republican attorney general’s opinion specifically addressed whether the state can recognize same-sex marriages performed in Massachusetts and whether those couples can adopt children in Michigan, critics worry that it further cripples gays’ rights and their ability to adopt.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-09-15-gay-adoption_x.htm
Posted 9/15/2004 10:36 PM
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Three homosexual couples filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday seeking to overturn a law that prohibits Oklahoma from recognizing adoptions by same-sex couples from other states and countries.
The lawsuit alleges the measure, which is an amendment to the Oklahoma Adoption Code, "appears to sever legal ties between parents and their children whenever families led by same-gender couples enter the state of Oklahoma."
Gov. Brad Henry signed the law in May. It was drafted by 17 state lawmakers after Attorney General Drew Edmondson issued an opinion in April requiring the state to recognize all adoptions, regardless of the gender of parents.
A gay couple from Washington state, Ed Swaya and Greg Hampel, sought the opinion when they asked for a birth certificate listing both of them as their daughter's parents. The state Health Department had initially refused to list Swaya because he was not the birth mother.
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/sep/04091006.html
Friday September 10, 2004
WINCHESTER, Virginia, September 10, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Two women who entered into a same-sex civil union in Vermont in 2000 have been battling for custody of a daughter conceived through artificial insemination. A Vermont court has ruled that the girl's mother, Lisa Miller-Jenkins, residing now in Winchester, Virginia, to be in contempt of court, for denying her same-sex partner Janet Miller-Jenkins access to the two year-old toddler, Isabella.
Custody of the child has yet to be determined, according to a Washington Post report. A Virginia judge ruled last month that same-sex civil unions in Vermont do not bestow parental rights. Vermont allowed same-sex unions in 2000, while Virginia enacted a statute last year that makes such unions void. Virginia Judge John Prosser refused Janet Miller-Jenkins' request for equal custody, giving full custody instead to the child's biological mother, who is a Virginia resident.
Rutland, Vermont, Family Court Judge William D. Cohen ruled, however, that since Lisa had brought the original court action in Vermont, "The judicial system as a whole simply cannot allow parties to try to take advantage of legal and cultural differences which may make one state favor the position of a particular party over another."
http://www.canada.com/news/story.html?id=0fe898b3-5550-4295-b6ec-3133a98a06a1
NEWS STORY
Court hears lesbian couple's attempt to prevent sperm donor from gaining parental status
ALLISON HANES
The Gazette
September 13, 2004
There's no doubt the Montreal man fathered the girl who celebrated her first birthday in July - but should he get to be her daddy?
That's the emotionally and legally loaded question Quebec Superior Court will grapple with this week.
The toddler was born after the man donated sperm to an old flame who was starting a family with her lesbian partner.
A hearing starts today to decide whether the man should get to have his name inscribed on the girl's birth certificate and be the proud papa in her life.
He claims he always expected to be more than a genetic donor.
www.theindychannel.com/news/3706357/detail.html
Judge Rules Adoptive Mother Must Return Boy To Indiana For Now
POSTED: 8:44 pm EST September 3, 2004
NOBLESVILLE, ind. -- Who gets custody of a boy when his two mothers break up? The Hamilton County court system is trying to figure that out.
Woman Ordered To Return Boy To Indiana
On Friday, a judge ruled that a 4-year-old boy who moved to Georgia in July with his adoptive mother must return to Indiana, where his biological mother is jailed.
Nancy Lafferty who adopted the boy while she was in a romantic relationship with the biological mother, Jill Wihebrink, must either move back to Indiana or allow the child to temporarily live with Wihebrink's Indiana family. The boy must return to the state in a week.
Wihebrink and Lafferty are no longer romantically involved, but both women are the boy's legal parents. Wihebrink, who is jailed on a drunken driving conviction, intends to fight for custody when she is released in January, RTV6's Vicki Duncan reported.
www.adoption-net.co.uk/news/2004/August/190804samesex.htm
Story published on August 19, 2004
By Christian Gysin, Daily Mail
Social workers are demanding that two children are adopted by a lesbian couple - because their mother was involved in a same-sex relationship. The pair - a girl of two and boy of three - have been living happily with heterosexual foster parents for more than a year.
But social workers are now insisting they be returned to the same "environment" that they experienced as infants.
This week the Labour council behind the move was accused of "barmy" political correctness. They said the case highlighted how the adoption system was still being twisted by social workers' ambitions to reconstruct society.
Britain has seen an explosion in gay adoption since it became legal 18 months ago. In some parts of the country, rates have reached one in six of adoptions.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040723/ap_on_re_us/gay_adoptions_2
Thu Jul 22, 9:57 PM ET
By ADRIAN SAINZ, Associated Press Writer
MIAMI - Florida's ban on adoptions by gays narrowly withstood another legal challenge, but some dissenting federal judges condemned the nation's only such blanket prohibition.
In a 6-6 vote, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (news - web sites) in Atlanta declined Wednesday to reconsider the case of four gay men who had appealed an earlier adverse ruling by a three-judge panel of the court.
One dissenting judge said the law was "irrational" under the Constitution's equal protection clause because it singles out gays. Another said he would move to change the law if he were a Florida legislator.
The American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites) filed the request for the full appeals court to hear the case after the three-judge panel in January ruled against the men, who are foster parents seeking to adopt children in their care.
"Coming this close to having the whole court consider the issue is little consolation to the thousands of children in Florida foster care who are in need of permanent homes," said Leslie Cooper, attorney for the ACLU's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project.
www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/9131999.htm
Posted on Sun, Jul. 11, 2004
Associated Press
SAN DIEGO - A state appeals court has rejected a libel lawsuit that spun off from the widely-publicized case of two lesbians who sought to adopt each other's children.
The 4th District Court of Appeals in San Diego ruled that since one of the women invited publicity for the relationship, she was a public figure who needed to meet a higher standard to prove she was libeled.
The court ruled that the woman, Annette Friskopp, would be unlikely to meet that higher standard in her claim against her former partner. The appeals court ruling was published, which means it can be cited as precedent in future libel cases.
In a 2001 letter to Gay and Lesbian Times, Sharon Silverstein, wrote that Friskopp, her former partner, was "a convicted perpetrator of domestic violence against me."
Friskopp sued Silverstein the following year, claiming the statement was false and libelous.
In a 30-page opinion issued June 28, Justice Cynthia Aaron concluded that Friskopp was a limited purpose public figure. As a public figure, Friskopp would have to show Silverstein acted with actual malice when she wrote the letter.
http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2004/07/07/news/local/nws02.txt
By NATALIE STOREY, Bismarck Tribune
Like many teenagers in North Dakota, Sara Berger has a mom who is a good cook. She says dinners are fairly typical at her house, with one notable difference -- her other mom does the dishes.
Berger is a pretty 16-year-old who is a good student at Mandan High School. She has a boyfriend, friends, a job and two lesbian moms who she likes to play rummy with. She says she's living proof that children of same-sex unions can turn out just as normal as children with heterosexual parents.
"People in favor of the marriage amendment often argue that it is in "children's best interests" to have both a mom and a dad, and that if the marriage amendment wasn't passed, it would jeopardize children and the sanctity of marriage," Berger said. "I'm here to say that it wouldn't."
Berger, along with a half-dozen others, spoke out Tuesday against the proposal to place an amendment to the North Dakota constitution on the ballot that would define marriage in the state as between a man and a woman, exclusively.
www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~148~2256223,00.html
July 07, 2004
By Al Knight
There are two starkly different ways to view last week's Colorado Court of Appeals decision in the "two mommies" case. One is believable; one is not.
The first way to see the decision is as a victory for gay and lesbian couples who have been seeking ways to marry, to divorce and to adopt and raise children.
The July 1 decision, which upheld the rights of a former lesbian partner and non-parent to a 50-50 parenting arrangement with the child's adoptive mother, is certainly being hailed as a victory for gay rights by gay and lesbian groups. The National Center for Lesbian Rights, which filed a friend of the court brief in the case, heralded the decision as one that gave a "lesbian co-parent" the right to seek custody of a child.
The second, and much less believable, way to view the court's decision is the one suggested by the court itself.
The three-judge panel insists throughout its 50-page decision that the case has nothing whatsoever to do with lesbianism or gay rights. It insists it is simply interpreting a state statute that prescribes when a non-parent may seek the custody or visitation with a child. It says the case before it merely illustrates "the evolving nature of parenthood."
It appears that a trend is already started where gay parenting couples spit and claim partner abuse as the
reason for the abandonment of the relationship. If that is going to be the trend we are likely to see alot of such cases since partner abuse is prominent in the gay community. In fact, Dr. E. Fields of Marietta, Ga. states in an article entitled:“Is Homosexual Activity Normal?” that homosexuals are 100 times more likely to be killed by partner abuse than heterosexuals. This does not sound like a proper environment for children to me. - nkb
http://www.metnews.com/articles/2004/anne062904.htm
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
By KENNETH OFGANG, Staff Writer/Appellate Courts
A libel suit arising out of a highly charged parental rights dispute involving a prominent lesbian couple was thrown out yesterday by the Fourth District Court of Appeal.
San Diego Superior Court Judge E. Mac Amos erred in denying Sharon Silverstein’s motion to dismiss the suit by Annette Friskopp, Div. One ruled. Justice Cynthia Aaron said the suit implicated Silverstein’s free speech rights and should have been stricken under the anti-SLAPP law.
The pair met at Harvard Business School, became involved in an often-volatile relationship in 1989 and moved to San Diego the following year. They are the authors of the book “Straight Jobs Gay Lives: Gay and Lesbian Professionals, The Harvard Business School, and the American Workplace,” and appeared on a television news program as advocates of child rearing by lesbian couples.
Friskopp and Silverstein—the parties have been referred to by first name and last initial in court opinions, but their full names have been reported in other media—have been fighting for nearly five years over custody of the two children that Silverstein had through artificial insemination using sperm from an anonymous donor.
The litigation spawned a California Supreme Court decision, Sharon S. v. Superior Court (2003) 31 Cal. 4th 417, upholding the legality of “modified” independent adoptions, also known as second-parent adoptions.
Such adoptions are similar to stepparent adoptions, in that one person adopts the child of the other without the natural parent’s rights being terminated.
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/6/242004h.asp<
...An organization of Christian doctors says the American Medical Association's endorsement of homosexual adoption is a prescription for disaster. That endorsement has been challenged by the Christian Medical & Dental Associations. CMDA president Dr. David Stevens says the action proves the AMA has become more of a political entity than a medical one. "Their endorsement of homosexual adoption is irresponsibly and doesn't correspond to the scientific literature," he explains. "We know for a fact that people who practice homosexuality have an increased incidence of drug and alcohol dependence, compulsive sexual behavior, anxiety, depression, [and] suicide." Stevens says promoting that lifestyle as a good parenting model will only be destructive to kids.
www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/jun/04061707.html
Thursday June 17, 2004
CHICAGO, June 17, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The American Medical Association, at their annual general meeting this week, has overwhelmingly endorsed a motion to allow same-sex adoptions.
The move marks the third major "politically correct" action taken at this session, including a recommendation that the FDA allow over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill, and that the U.S. restore its funding to the United Nations Population Fund.
The motion, introduced by medical student Jana Montgomery Tuesday, ended with delegates overwhelmingly supporting the motion by a vote of 316 to 130.
www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/special_packages/business_monday/8789376.htm
Posted on Mon, May. 31, 2004
Q: We are unmarried professionals who have lived together in a stable relationship for 10 years. We wanted to start a family and decided to become adoptive parents. We satisfied all the legal requirements, but our application was denied and we were shocked to learn the reason was solely because we are a lesbian couple. Some friends of ours who live in Atlanta recently were approved for adoption under almost identical circumstances. Isn't this illegal discrimination that violates our human rights?
-- ``Angry in Aventura''
A: Sorry to inform you that Florida is the only state in the nation that legally can deny resident gays the right to adopt. All the other states have no such restrictions. Adoption rights are legislated in Georgia and the other states. Depending on the state, they may apply to any adult, any adult person, any person, any unmarried adult or married persons.
Florida Statute 63.042 allows any minor or adult person to be adopted by married persons or unmarried adults. This includes anyone capable of ''serving as an effective parent,'' but specifically excludes gays. It states, ``No person eligible to adopt under this statute may adopt if that person is a homosexual.''
This adoption ban is known as ''The Anita Bryant Law.'' It has an interesting history dating back to 1977 when Dade County passed a Human Rights Ordinance providing that one's legal rights could not be abridged based upon sexual preference. At that time, Bryant was spokesperson for Florida orange juice, having been appointed by the Florida Citrus Commission in 1972, and was a well-known celebrity due to her appearance in nationally televised commercials. She was also a self-described devout Christian who asserted that homosexuality was evil and caused child molestation.
She formed a group called Save Our Children and led a successful campaign to repeal the Dade County ordinance. The statutory exclusionary language was added by the Florida Legislature shortly thereafter.
www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1119697.htm
Monday, May 31, 2004. 7:25pm (AEST)
Federal Opposition leader Mark Latham says Labor will oppose Government moves to ban same-sex couples from adopting children from overseas.
However, Mr Latham says Opposition frontbenchers have decided to back Government legislation that would ban gay marriages.
Mr Latham says the Shadow Ministry has agreed it is not appropriate for the Federal Government to intervene in the area of gay adoptions.
"We don't believe this is an appropriate use of federal power," he said.
"It's a matter that's always been handled by the states and territories ... Labor has said consistently that adoption has got to be judged case by case.
"That happens at state and territory level; it doesn't happen at Commonwealth level."
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=70885&ran=25291
By CHRISTINA NUCKOLS , The Virginian-Pilot
© May 27, 2004 | Last updated 9:48 PM May. 26
RICHMOND — Three same-sex couples are asking the Virginia Supreme Court for permission to obtain birth certificates for their adopted children that list both partners as the parents.
The plaintiffs live in Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania, where same-sex couples are allowed to adopt children. Virginia prohibits such adoptions, although some individuals who are gay have been permitted to adopt.
Because the children were born in Virginia, the couples applied to the state’s Department of Vital Records for birth certificates. A Richmond judge upheld the agency’s refusal to include both partners’ names on the certificates.
www.cpod.ubc.ca/polls/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewItem&itemID=2809
May 26, 2004
(CPOD) May 26, 2004 – Canadians are split over the concept of wedlock for gay and lesbian partners, according to a poll by Léger Marketing. 43 per cent of respondents are in favour of marriages between homosexual couples, while 47 per cent disagree.
In 2003, the Canadian provinces of Ontario and British Columbia allowed homosexual marriage after separate court rulings. The House of Commons is expected to debate legislation that could enable same-sex couples all across Canada to legally wed.
Support is slightly higher for allowing gay and lesbian partners to raise children. 46 per cent of respondents back allowing homosexual couples to adopt, while 47 per cent disagree.
www.cpod.ubc.ca/polls/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewItem&itemID=2781
May 24, 2004
French Favour Same-Sex Marriage, Not Adoptions
(CPOD) May 24, 2004 – Many French residents support the concept of wedlock for gay and lesbian partners, according to a poll by CSA published in Valeurs Actuelles. 50 per cent of respondents favour marriages between homosexual couples, while 46 per cent disagree.
France has allowed civil unions for gay and lesbian couples since 2000. Begles mayor Noel Mamere will conduct the country’s first ever same-sex wedding in June, claiming that there are no regulations in the country or the European Union (EU) that could thwart such a ceremony.
Support is lower for allowing gay and lesbian partners to raise children. Only 33 per cent of respondents favour allowing homosexual couples to adopt.
http://www.kfor.com/Global/story.asp?S=1838633
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Updated: May 4, 2004 10:33 AM
One new law keeps the state from recognizing adoptions by gay couples from out of state. Henry agrees with the Legislature that same-sex couples shouldn't be allowed to adopt children.
Senator James Williamson wrote the bill in response to an opinion by Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson. The attorney general said that state law required Oklahoma to recognize such adoptions.
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/apr/040428c.html
The Canadian Psychological Association has ceased to be a scientific organization and instead, has become a political organization promoting politically correct thought.
In November 2003, the Association made the startling announcement that there is no heightened risk of problems from same-sex parenting, or an increased likelihood for children living in such partnerships to become gay themselves.
According to the Association, "studies have shown almost no difference in sexual preference or in psychosocial development for children of same-sex parents." On what basis did the Association reach such a conclusion? Certainly, it could not have looked at recent findings in social science journals to reach this conclusion. If the Association had troubled itself to look at the current literature, it would have, in all decency, been disturbed by their conclusions, and, with professional integrity, issued quite a different statement.
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/apr/040428c.html
The Canadian Psychological Association has ceased to be a scientific organization and instead, has become a political organization promoting politically correct thought.
In November 2003, the Association made the startling announcement that there is no heightened risk of problems from same-sex parenting, or an increased likelihood for children living in such partnerships to become gay themselves.
According to the Association, "studies have shown almost no difference in sexual preference or in psychosocial development for children of same-sex parents." On what basis did the Association reach such a conclusion? Certainly, it could not have looked at recent findings in social science journals to reach this conclusion. If the Association had troubled itself to look at the current literature, it would have, in all decency, been disturbed by their conclusions, and, with professional integrity, issued quite a different statement.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/
SANTIAGO, Chile, Apr. 07 (CNA) - The Church and several family groups are reacting against the decision of an Appeals court in Temuco, Chile, to grant custody of three children to a lesbian mother, saying it will make it possible for other homosexual couples to adopt.
The controversial decision says that “lesbianism by itself does not make on incompetent” in the custody of minors.”
While the father of the children appeals to the Supreme Court to regain custody of his children, Ignacio Fernandez of the Archdiocese of Santiago’s Family Ministry Office, said the only family model that can truly be such is that of a father and a mother.
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/mar/04032408.html
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas, March 24, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An Arkansas couple is suing the state over a law that prohibits foster children in homes where homosexual adults reside. William Wagner and his wife told the Associated Press that they cannot foster a child because their adult homosexual son stays with them.
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
03-24-04
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/news/0323VE3M9GF_news.shtml
Same-sex and unmarried couples seeking to adopt a child can petition jointly, according to a precedent-setting state court ruling on an adoption case involving a local lesbian couple.
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/news/stories/20040322/localnews/124315.html
LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- Lawyers for four people who want to serve as foster parents are due in court this week to fight a 5-year-old rule that bars them from raising wards of the state simply because someone in their house is gay.
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=3315
03-19-04
The debate over homosexual marriage has gone on loudly in this nation for a while now, and the Leftists in the establishment media, specifically those in the newspaper industry, have made their biases known to the world -- from the front page to the editorial page.
http://www.gcc.edu/news/faculty/editorials/throck_study_3_19_04.htm
03-19-04
How’s this for a deal? “Wanted: millions of children to participate in a social science experiment. Young children preferred. Once engaged in the experiment there is no opportunity to withdraw. There may be long term problems for certain participants although the extent of any potential risk cannot be predicted at this time. The researchers cannot be held liable for any negative outcomes.”
http://www.religionjournal.com/showbrief.asp?id=1304
Lutheran Social Services is under fire for promoting homosexual adoption.
The agency says it is complying with a nondiscrimination policy, but at least one pro-family advocate is not buying that excuse. While the Lutheran social agency does not place kids in adoptive homes, they do forward recommendations to state agencies.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04076/286409.stm
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
By Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
HARRISBURG -- Sidestepping a potential election-year land mine, Republican leaders in the state House yesterday postponed public discussion on several anti-gay measures submitted by a GOP lawmaker from northeastern Pennsylvania.
USA Today, March 10, 2004
7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA 22108-0605
(Fax: 703-247-3108 ) (E-Mail: Editor@usatoday.com )
( http://www.usatoday.com )
http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2004-03-09-gay-parents_x.htm
Looking straight at gay parents
By Karen S. Peterson, USA TODAY
SILVER SPRING, Md. – When Kim Musheno, 39, gives birth to her second son next month, her lesbian partner will be in the birthing room.
If their current plan holds up, Victor Zaborsky, 38, the gay man who is the baby's biological father, will be there, too. And so will Joseph Price, 32, Zaborsky's gay partner. Price is the biological father of Musheno's first child, now 3.
...
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/mar/04030912.html
CANBERRA, March 9, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Prime Minster of Australia, John Howard, has said that he was against gay "marriage" and the adoption of children by homosexuals. His comments indicate that the government may intend to take action against new laws giving homosexual partners the same rights as married couples
The Mercury, March 9, 2004
93 Macquarie Street, Hobart Tasmania 7000 Australia
(Fax: + 61-3-6230-0711) (E-Mail: mercuryedletter@trump.net.au )
http://www.themercury.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,8911512%255E3462,00.html
By Rohan Wade
Tasmania's same-sex adoption laws are safe from intervention by a Federal Government contemplating toppling similar laws in the ACT, gay activists say.
The Age, March 9, 2004
250 Spencer Street, Melbourne, 3000. Australia.
(Fax: + 61-3-9601-2414 ) (E-Mail: letters@theage.fairFax.com.au )
(http://www.theage.com.au )
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/03/08/1078594298145.html
PM may overturn gay law
By Melissa Marino
Canberra – Prime Minister John Howard has criticised new ACT laws allowing gay couples to adopt children – signalling that the Government may consider intervening to have them overturned.
...
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, February 20, 2004
200 E. Las Olas, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33301
(Fax: 954-356-4624 ) (E-Mail: letters@sun-sentinel.com )
( http://www.sun-sentinel.com )
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-fgayadoption19feb19,0,4282155,print.story
Gay men appeal federal decision upholding Florida's ban on gay adoptions
By Maya Bell, Miami Bureau
MIAMI · Four gay men hoping to adopt the children they are raising asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to reconsider last month's decision upholding Florida's law prohibiting homosexuals from adopting...
Orlando Sentinel, February 19, 2004
633 N. Orange Ave., Orlando, FL, 32801
(Fax: 407-420-5286 ) (E-Mail: insight@orlandosentinel.com )
( http://www.orlandosentinel.com )
4 men ask federal court to reconsider law prohibiting gay adoption
By Maya Bell, The Orlando Sentinel
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/02/19/gays_fight_law_that_bars_effort_to_adopt/
Florida statute upheld last month; a rehearing is sought
By Maya Bell, Orlando Sentinel, 2/19/2004
MIAMI -- Four gay men hoping to adopt the children they are raising asked a federal appeals court yesterday to reconsider last month's decision upholding Florida's law prohibiting homosexuals from adopting...
THIS ARTICLE IS IN REFERENCE TO AN AUSTRALIAN LAW
Daily Telegraph, February 17, 2004
2 Holt Street, Surry Hills, NSW, 2010 Australia
(Fax: + 61-2-9288-2300) (E-Mail: dtmletr@matp.newsltd.com.au )
( http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au )
http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1274&storyid=910866
By Peter Jean
The ACT Liberal Party will ask the Federal Government to examine the
validity of a law which allows homosexuals to adopt children.....
Ann Arbor News, February 15, 2004
340 E. Huron St., Ann Arbor, MI, 48106
(Fax: 313-994-6879 ) (E-Mail: LetterNews@aol.com )
( http://aa.mlive.com )
http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/features-0/1076843906133290.xml
Same-sex marriage debate hits close to home
By Marianne Rzepka, News Staff Reporter
The Morning Call, February 14, 2004
Box 1260, Allentown, PA, 18105
(Fax: 610-820-6693 ) (E-Mail: letters@mcall.com )
( http://www.mcall.com )
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a2_5gayfeb14,0,2238532.story?coll=all-newslocal-hed
Pocono legislator pushes anti-gay measures
He wants to keep same-sex couples from adopting, marrying.
By John L. Micek and John M.R. Bull, Call Harrisburg Bureau
Herald Sun, 14 February 2004
( http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au )
PM lashes gay adoptive parents
By Ellen Whinnett
John Howard has lashed out at gay adoptions, saying they send the wrong message and are not supported by most Australians.
The Prime Minister made his comments yesterday in Launceston as he defended the new Liberal candidate in Bass, Michael Ferguson.
Culture Facts - February 6, 2004
Volume 6; Issue 2
In This Edition:
Palm Beach Post, February 5, 2004
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/auto/epaper/editions/thursday/opinion_0412773440820077002c.html
Editorial: Adoption homophobia hurts Florida children
Associated Press, February 4, 2004
http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/virginia/dp-va--gayadoption0204feb04,0,6801014.story?coll=dp-headlines-virginia
Judge rules against gay parents seeking new certificates
By Adrienne Schwisow, Associated Press Writer
RICHMOND, Va. - The state is not required to issue new birth certificates for children born in Virginia but adopted by gay couples in other states, a judge ruled Wednesday in a setback for advocates of gay marriage and adoption.
The News-Press, February 4, 2004
http://www.news-press.com/news/opinion/040204-edit1.html
Editorial: Gay adoption rule hurts kids the most
Foster children deserve to have parent
We don't pretend to know what kind of family is best for raising a child.
We don't pretend to understand complex legal arguments about constitutional theory that federal court judges grapple with every day.
But we do know faulty logic when we hear it and recognize stupidity when we see it.
The State, February 4, 2004
( http://www.thestate.com/ )
Bill would ban some couples from adopting
Associated Press
GREENVILLE, S.C. - A bill by state Sen. Mike Fair would change South Carolina's adoption law to bar unmarried couples from becoming foster parents or adopting children in the state's care.
