Arkansas Senate bill 959 proposed an outright ban on gays, lesbians, and cohabiting couples from serving as foster or adoptive parents. After passing through a Senate Public Health Committee, the Arkansas Senate also passed the bill.
Senate Bill 959, sponsored by State Sen. Shawn Womack (R) of Mountain Home, was assigned to the Arkansas House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee. On Tuesday, with increasingly dramatic and compelling testimony, Senate Bill 959 died in Committee. Twice.
No matter what side of the debate you're on, I think you'll learn from and enjoy the YouTube video below that I shot of the Committee testimony Tuesday. Due to YouTube's 10 minute lime limitation per video, the Committee meeting video is broken into 9 parts.
As it's now after 5am on Wednesday, let me give you a link to my myspace blog where the YouTube videos await you: http://blog.myspace.com/rimshot72205.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Let YOUR Voice be Heard TODAY
Tuesday morning at 10:30am, The Arkansas House Judiciary Committee will meet around the above table to consider State Senator Shawn Womack's bill to ban gay adoptions and foster parenting in Arkansas.
Only Florida has a law banning gay adoptions. Florida's law passed in the 1970s, during the Anita Bryant-era of gay-bashing ignorance. Florida's law does allow gay fostering, according to USA Today. In Mississippi, gay couples cannot adopt but gay singles can. Utah bans unmarried couples from adopting.
The US Supreme Court has never ruled on this issue, and it seems by crafting such a bill using an extreme combination of the laws in Florida and Utah, the efforts of the Arkansas Family Council (a step-child of Dr. Dobson's national anti-gay group, Focus on the Family) is to challenge the Court to take on the issue.
A 2005 poll of Arkansans by the University of Arkansas showed 65% of Arkansans approved of allowing a lesbian or gay man to adopt a child if the court found that person fit in all other ways to become an adoptive parent.
Only Florida has a law banning gay adoptions. Florida's law passed in the 1970s, during the Anita Bryant-era of gay-bashing ignorance. Florida's law does allow gay fostering, according to USA Today. In Mississippi, gay couples cannot adopt but gay singles can. Utah bans unmarried couples from adopting.
The US Supreme Court has never ruled on this issue, and it seems by crafting such a bill using an extreme combination of the laws in Florida and Utah, the efforts of the Arkansas Family Council (a step-child of Dr. Dobson's national anti-gay group, Focus on the Family) is to challenge the Court to take on the issue.
A 2005 poll of Arkansans by the University of Arkansas showed 65% of Arkansans approved of allowing a lesbian or gay man to adopt a child if the court found that person fit in all other ways to become an adoptive parent.
America's best scientific evidence shows gay or lesbian parenting works for kids needing foster or adoptive parents. We have 800 kids in Arkansas on a "waiting list."
The Arkansas Family Council's bill to reduce the pool of available foster parents based on groundless bias against gays will face its toughest hurdle yet Tuesday with House Judiciary Committee. I am deeply honored that my state representative Kathy Webb, Arkansas' first openly gay legislator, sits on this committee and will speak against the bill.
The Arkansas Family Council's bill to reduce the pool of available foster parents based on groundless bias against gays will face its toughest hurdle yet Tuesday with House Judiciary Committee. I am deeply honored that my state representative Kathy Webb, Arkansas' first openly gay legislator, sits on this committee and will speak against the bill.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Beebe: Don't Saddle Kids with Stigma
The Saturday edition of our statewide daily newspaper gets fewer readers, which make it a more important edition to read. Sometimes you get four day old news worth noting.
Today's ArkansasDemocrat-Gazette reports the Governor said Wednesday he doesn't believe foster kids should be in "gay foster homes" because of "today's society."
Children in such homes could face social stigmas, says Beebe Spokesman Matt DeCample. While he says no child should be placed in a foster home with homosexuals, the Governor is "not prepared" to give an opinion on whether to let gays adopt.
Beebe says it "takes a while" to analyze possible constitutional problems with Senate Bill 959 and he has yet to decide if he would sign it if passed by the Arkansas House, so his loophole remains. The bill has passed the Senate.
A bill to prohibit smoking in the presence of foster kids was introduced, also intended to "protect the children." How bout smoking in the presence of any children, period? State Senator Percy Malone of Arkadelphia's bill didn't prohibit smokers from fostering, just from smoking in their presence. With 800 kids needing foster homes, we wouldn't want to eliminate all smokers as potential foster parents. As a compromise, smoking foster parents can't smoke in their presence. Fair enough?
Perhaps we can have gay foster parents if they promise not to have sex in the presence of fotster kids? Oh, that's right, despite all the evidence to the contrary, they think we're more likly to have sex with our foster kids than straight folks.
Today's ArkansasDemocrat-Gazette reports the Governor said Wednesday he doesn't believe foster kids should be in "gay foster homes" because of "today's society."
Children in such homes could face social stigmas, says Beebe Spokesman Matt DeCample. While he says no child should be placed in a foster home with homosexuals, the Governor is "not prepared" to give an opinion on whether to let gays adopt.
Beebe says it "takes a while" to analyze possible constitutional problems with Senate Bill 959 and he has yet to decide if he would sign it if passed by the Arkansas House, so his loophole remains. The bill has passed the Senate.
A bill to prohibit smoking in the presence of foster kids was introduced, also intended to "protect the children." How bout smoking in the presence of any children, period? State Senator Percy Malone of Arkadelphia's bill didn't prohibit smokers from fostering, just from smoking in their presence. With 800 kids needing foster homes, we wouldn't want to eliminate all smokers as potential foster parents. As a compromise, smoking foster parents can't smoke in their presence. Fair enough?
Perhaps we can have gay foster parents if they promise not to have sex in the presence of fotster kids? Oh, that's right, despite all the evidence to the contrary, they think we're more likly to have sex with our foster kids than straight folks.
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