Battle Over Gay Couples' Adoption Rights

I just read an article that there are sixteen states battling over gay couples' adoption rights. A conservative group in Ohio said something along the lines of, "Now that we have defined marriage, we need to make sure that children grow up in these environments."

Eleven states banned gay marriage in the '04 election year. It's amazing what outlandish things some conservatives will say regarding gays. They'll go down the slippery slope of informal fallacies and say things such as, "What's next? After gays marry, pets will be next!" Come on, do they really believe that? Give me a break.

So, I'm going to head down a slippery slope of my own that some conservative groups are taking gays down. Allright, so no marriage. No adoption rights. What's next? No rights whatsoever? Up next, gays can't go to college? Can't have health insurance? Can't make more than $50,000 a year?

How can we define marriage and define family? Especially family? All families differ. Some groups will say that growing up with gay parents will create for a gay child. Well, sorry to disappoint those of you who agree with this statement, but studies have already been done to check the accuracy of such statements and they're false. What, do people thing heterosexual parents only raise heterosexuals? All the gays I know grew up in that "perfect" family that some conservative groups see as the only family- one man and one woman.

There are so many kids who need to be adopted and have a family. Single parents have made a family work. Women who couldn't conceive have done likewise. Divorced parents and couples have done similar things. Why not gay couples? What about that "perfect" family, with one man, one woman, the white picket fence, and...oh yeah, abuse! There are some individuals or couples in this so-called "perfect" family that don't deserve to be parents and there are other people out there, who may live a "different" lifestyle than the majority, who deserve an opportunity to raise these children.

Good news from what I saw in the poll results, though. After 12,000 votes were in, 70% said that they were in favor of gay couples adopting children and 64% said that the issue would be a major reason for them to head to the polls on election day. I hope those numbers stand up at the polls.