Catholic bishops may believe that it is possible to serve the best interests of the child by artificially restricting the pool of potential adoptive parents, but at least one Republican congressional rep has seen the flaw in that argument. The best way to ensure the best match between a particular child and the best possible parents is to limit restrictions to the particular qualities of particular parents, not to demographic barriers based on religious ideology. Rep Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has become the first GOP representative to publicly endorse the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, which would outlaw discrimination in adoption decisions based on sexual orientation, marital status, or gender identity.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Announces Gay Adoption Support: Bill Picks Up First GOP Cosponsor
“It’s way past time to allow the thousands of children in foster care the opportunity to live in safe and nurturing families who are eager to adopt them,” said Ros-Lehtinen in a statement. “There are strict guidelines to ensure that the placement of these children will be regulated and that the parents will provide the protective guidance and structure that the children need.”
“My home state of Florida had discriminatory laws in place that were preventing caring parents from adoption,” she continued. “This Federal bill is a step in the right direction so that the proper match between responsible parent and needy child can take place regardless of the parent’s sexual orientation.”
Full report - Huffington Post
Ros-Lehtinen may be the first congressional Republican to speak up for family equality, but she will certainly not be the last. More will follow, just as some supported the repeal of DADT, and some notable Republicans are starting to support marriage equality.
Now, when will Catholic bishops also get the simple message: Every Child Deserves a Family?
Related articles
- SAVE Dade, Ros-Lehtinen reach out to lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender Republicans (miamiherald.typepad.com)
- LGBT Adoption Bill Picks Up GOP Cosponsor (huffingtonpost.com)
- Log Cabin Republicans salute pro-equality GOP women, including U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (miamiherald.typepad.com)
