A letter sent to the Arkansas-Democrat-Gazette (to be published in the next few days):
More than 1 in 20 adopted Arkansas children are now living with gay or lesbian parents, the ninth highest percentage in the U.S., according to a 2007 study of Census data by the UCLA School of Law & The Urban Institute.*
Our foster care system has serious problems while hundreds of Arkansas children remain waiting not so much for "perfect" parents, but for well-screened loving responsible parents. At the same time, a 7-year fundraiser/crusade by the Family Council of Arkansas continues an effort to eliminate an entire pool of potential parents using mere myths and stereotypes to battle the credible scientific consensus that kids raised by gay parents turn out just fine.
Meanwhile, gay and lesbian Arkansas families have already stepped up to the plate, proudly adopting and parenting over 1,000 children in Arkansas, according to the study. Nearly all other states see no need to ban gays and lesbians serving as foster or adoptive parents. Where are the daily headlines of homo-horror faced by these kids in Arkansas or across America? Perhaps I missed them reading of the atrocities against children committed by heterosexual parents.
Before the Family Council petition gets passed down your pew with a collection plate, go to YouTube.com and watch the testimony from both sides of the issue. Read the findings of fact made by the Arkansas Supreme Court in DHS vs. Howard. Empower yourself to overcome these fear-based fundraisers, and put the brakes on this petition drive. Do it for the kids.
--Eric Camp
Little Rock
* Adoption and Foster Care by Gay and Lesbian Parents in the United States is available online at: :http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/FinalAdoptionReport.pdf .
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