NEW YORK (AP)
Jul 15 2008, 4:11 PM |
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Advocates for gay and lesbian families are denouncing Sen. John McCain,
an adoptive father himself, for opposing adoptions by gays, which
prompted his presidential campaign to clarify Tuesday that he does not
seek a federal ban on the practice. Only one state, Florida, outlaws
gay adoptions, which have become commonplace in much of the nation.
The Republican nominee-in-waiting was asked for his views on the subject in an interview published Sunday in The New York Times.
"I think that we've proven that both parents are important in the
success of a family so, no, I don't believe in gay adoption," McCain
replied.
McCain then remarked that he and his wife, Cindy, were proud to be
adoptive parents of a daughter born in Bangladesh, and he encouraged
others to adopt. Asked if those adopting should be a "traditional
couple," McCain answered, "Yes."
The responses were condemned by gay and lesbian groups.
"He's completely out of touch," said Kara Suffredini, public policy
director for the Family Equality Council. "There's no reason, except
for the sake of red meat for his base, to throw up screens in the way
of children in foster care getting homes."
Jody Huckaby, executive director of Parents, Families and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays, said McCain's comments were especially dismaying
because more than 100,000 children are in foster care waiting to be
adopted.
"Sen. McCain would deny loving homes to children who desperately need them simply
because of an outdated prejudice about what a family may look like,"
Huckaby said.
On Tuesday, as criticism of McCain's comments spread, his campaign elaborated on the candidate's views.
"John McCain could have been clearer in the interview in stating that his position
on gay adoption is that it is a state issue. ... He was not endorsing
any federal legislation," a campaign statement said.
"Sen. McCain's expressed his personal preference for children to be
raised by a mother and a father wherever possible," the statement
added. "However, as an adoptive father himself, McCain believes
children deserve loving and caring home environments, and he recognizes
that there are many abandoned children who have yet to find homes. John
McCain believes that in those situations that caring parental figures
are better for the child than the alternative."
An estimated 65,000 children have been adopted by gays and lesbians,
according to advocacy groups. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the
American Psychiatric Association and the National Association of Social
Workers, among other groups, have expressed support for gay adoptions.
"It is an insult to these professionals and the children whom they
represent to suggest that the door should be closed to people other
than a 'traditional' married couple," said Ellen Kahn, who coordinates
family-related projects for the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay
rights group.
Adam Pertman, executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption
Institute, said McCain "needs to read the research and rethink his
comments."
"His implication is that every adopted child should have a mother
and father," Pertman added. "That may be the ideal, but if we stick to
it, we would have far fewer homes for kids. Single people — gay and
straight — represent a significant number of adoptive parents."
States have widely varying laws regarding adoption by same-sex couples, but only Florida has a law explicitly banning gays and lesbians from adopting as individuals.
Conservative activists in Arkansas
have been working to get a similar ban on the ballot in November, but
have struggled to generate public support. Earlier this month, they
turned in a petition with 65,899 signatures — only slightly more than
the required number and well under the initial goal of 100,000
signatures.
Recent national polls suggest that support for the concept of gay
adoption is growing. A 2006 poll by the Pew Research Center found a
near-even split on the issue; a 2007 poll by CNN and Opinion Research
Corp. said 57 percent of respondents felt gays should have the right to
adopt, while 40 percent said they shouldn't.
A gay adoptive father in Atlanta, Ken Manford, said he and his
partner have felt strong support and acceptance from neighbors and
acquaintances since they adopted a son from Guatemala nearly seven
years ago.
"If Sen. McCain
came and sat down with us, I'd tell him we've proven that both parents
are important in our family," Manford said. "It doesn't matter that
both those parents are men."
McCain's Democratic rival, Barack Obama, supports adoption rights for gays and lesbians.
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