1

Save the Gaybies!

Mandy Heeren
Dallas Center Grimes High School
 2

Save the Gaybies!

According to William Institute, there are approximately nine million American people

that identify as a part of the wide LGBT+ spectrum. LGBT+ is the abbreviation given to

represent citizens who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transsexual. Many other identities

also fall under this abbreviation, identified by the + symbol, such as Demi sexual, Gender-

fluid, Pansexual, Asexual, and Agender. These people are just as normal as any other human on

the planet. They participate in regular life activities, like caring for children, just as any other

traditional (heterosexual and cisgender) identifying person may. Therefore, if a straight couple

is able to adopt children, why should any person in the vast spectrum ever be cast out? It is not

ethically nor morally permissible to deny homosexuals the right to adopt. The three main points

in this article are worries of turning the children gay, low adoption rates and abusive foster care

systems, and homosexual couple adoption success example.

When the topic of gay couples adopting arises, many people are worried that the children

will turn gay under the care of homosexual identifying people. Firstly, being homosexual is not

a disease. No one can catch it and it cannot be spread. Homosexuality is defined by Merriam-

Webster Dictionary as the sexual attraction or tendency to direct sexual desire toward another of

the same sex; the quality or state of being homosexual. To put it into simpler phrasing,

homosexuality is a trait of a person; something they identify themselves as based on their

experiences and emotional feelings. For example, someone can identify as being tall. Tall is just

simply something they are. Being a tall is not something the person can change, but there is

nothing wrong with possessing that trait, just as possessing a short or average height trait isnt

wrong. Furthermore, someone cannot catch tall from a tall person. It seems silly even to think

about catching the tall.

 3

People may argue with the statement someone can identify as being tall because it is a

physical trait; not something one can change; thought they believe being gay is. Many owe this

belief to their personal religion or to accepting beliefs by those around them as their own. The

insert from J.G.R at the end of Do Kids Need Religion, by Anthony Brandt, shows that many

times, people rely on religions to teach them morals instead of relying on their own instinct and

feelings. Having your own beliefs is fantastic. It only becomes a problem when your beliefs start

effecting the welfare of others without their consent. Being gay is not a physical trait, but you

cant just wish it away either. Though, yes, through the abusive practice known as conversion

therapy, one can be forced to gain mental illness and subconsciously hide their feelings. This

practice is dangerous, archaic, and had led to suicide in many cases. As touched on in The

Morality of Drones, by Lt. Gen. Clarence E. McKnight Jr., often times deaths, such as citizens of

a country the USA or the innocent teenagers dying at the hands on conversion therapy, are seen

as mere collateral damage, thinking that its all part of the war for better. When will things get

better when innocent people are still dying at the hands of the self-righteous, drunk in the idea

that theyre doing this for the greater good?

Homosexuality has also been found in many species of animals such as lions, dolphins,

penguins, chimpanzees, bears, etc. This furthers the evidence that homosexuality is a natural

characteristic, not a learned one that can be changed; since animals have been around longer than

humans and are unaffected by any human societies.

When a child is taken from their home for whatever reason, (most commonly substance

abuse), they are put into the foster care system. This system was created as a means to save

children from abusive homes and place them into a new household to raise them until they are an

adult (eighteen years old) and can support themselves. However, all too commonly the foster
 4

care home is as bad as, if not worse, than their original home. Children are taken out of their

current terrible situation only to be met with a new one. Another problem with the system is that

it is all too easy for foster care parents to force out the child theyre fostering. Millions of

children bounce between new foster care systems and the street every year.

One victim of this system, Tara Burns, knows this struggle all too well. At the age of

fifteen, Tara was rescued by the state from her abusive father who had sold her into sex work.

Despite finding a home with another loving family that she chose (having a choice is important

in these cases), she was put into the foster care system. For years she would bounce from home

to shelter to street, constantly being thrown out or turned away. No one would adopt her. Was the

pool of possible adoptive parents too small that she was only left to bad foster homes instead?

Her own social workers would call her a liar. After many failed experiences and a buildup of lack

of trust, Tara eventually decided to turn back to the only life she knew could support her

prostitution.

Later in her life, Tara went on to achieve a higher education and become a writer. She has

written and published three books about her experiences as a sex worker. However, a question

still remains; why couldnt her earlier life have been better? What if the system worked harder to

help her and place her in good homes? What if there were adoptive parents that wanted her but

didnt know about her? What if the adoptive pool was too small that the only possible parents left

only wanted babies (very common in the adopting world)? All these what ifs could have cost

Tara her life, and almost did. But lets sort out one of the what ifs; the too small adoptive pool.

What if the adoptive pool was opened to homosexual couples? Many more couples would be

able to adopt children of all ages, meaning there would be more couples open to adopt other kids

that may have been overlooked for the cute and highly demanded babies. Maybe Tara could have
 5

found solace in the home of a gay couple and would never have had to turn back to her

horrendous earlier life to support herself.

According to LifeLongAdoptions.com, an estimated two million LGBTQ+ couples are

interested in adopting. Same sex parents in the United States are four times more likely than

different-sex parents to be raising an adopted child. Among couples with children under the age

of eighteen in the home, thirteen percent of same-sex parents have an adopted child, compared to

just three percent of different-sex parents. (3) If same-sex couples are so interested in adopting,

why would anyone make such practice illegal? If the government/state allows homosexual

couples to adopt, it opens a brand new door for any child in the foster care system. The more

possible couples to adopt or foster, the most children can get adopted/placed in a good foster care

home. Its basic statistics.

David Brodzinsky and Abbie E. Goldberg of Children and Youth Services Review, did a

study comparing heterosexual and sexual minority (LBGTQ+ included) families with adopted

children. They found that the sexual minority families reported a higher level of contact with

one or more members of their childrens birth families following adoptive placement than did

heterosexual participants. (Brodzinsky and Goldberg 2017) From their research, one can infer

that sexual minority parents may do more to help their adopted children than many heterosexual

parents. Though this may not be true in all cases, there is something to be said here.

Adoptions by gay couples may not always turn out peachy, but quite a large percentage

do. For example, Dan Savage and his husband, Terry Miller. Dan is a famous journalist, author,

and LGBTQ+ activist. His husband, Terry, is known for the various books he has written as he is

also an author. The two decided to start looking to adopt a child and happened across the case of

a homeless, pregnant women looking for a couple to raise her child. Many turned her down as
 6

they found she drank alcohol while pregnant, but Savage and Miller did not turn away. They

moved forward with the adoption process and were rewarded a while later with a healthy baby

boy, DJ. Today, DJs birthmother still visits him several times a year and he is doing great in his

home with his two dads.

Though this subject doesnt affect me much as I dont personally identify as part of the

LGBTQ+ community, I do feel that it is an important topic to defend. In my past experiences,

minorities are often pushed down and suffer at the depths of society. It is the job of the privileged

to help end the war, break the walls, and help their own kin out as they have a voice and the

minorities often do not. The minority group I know best is the disabled population because of my

mom and other relatives. Many people in my family are disabled and have to fight for their rights

to healthcare and even to life. Often, certain bills are almost passed that make it impossible for

them to get the meds they need to live, meaning they will pass away unless their voice is heard.

This is where they need the help of others to make the lawmakers understand every effect of their

proposed bills. With people I know in the sciences, theres so much to do and so little time, that

people help each other out, A Whole lot of Cheatin Going On by Mark Clayton, mentions this

very idea as it talks about whether or not cheating in schools is morally/ethically sound. The

LGBTQ+ community faces many similar struggles, though not always relating to medications,

and need people to make their voices heard. I believe, as a human, it is my job to make sure

everyone has a right to life and happiness.

If more potential adopting parents are out there, more children will be adopted.

Therefore, it makes sense to increase the number of adopting parents and what better way than to

open the right for LGBTQ+ couples. The gay community has suffered countless inhumane acts,

as researched by Gerald A. Larue (1999), for centuries by all types of people. Denying them the
 7

right to adopt and care for a child that needs any love and support available is completely

asinine. Denying them this right is ethically and morally wrong.

 8

Bibliography

1. Gates, Gary J. "How Many People Are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender?" Williams Institute. N.p., 28 Mar. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.
2. "Homosexuality." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.
3. Adoptions, Lifelong. "Lgbt Adoption." LifeLong Adoptions. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.
4. KaylaV. "Survinging Your Rescuers: Tara's Story as a Victim of the Foster Care
System."FosterClub. FosterClub, Inc., 27 Oct. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.
5. Brodzinsky, David, and Abbie E. Goldberg. "Contact with Birth Family in Intercountry
Adoptions: Comparing Families Headed by Sexual Minority and Heterosexual
Parents."Heartland. N.p., Mar. 2017. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.
6. Adoptions, Lifelong. "9 Celebrities Who Adopted." LifeLong Adoptions. N.p., n.d. Web.
20 Apr. 2017.
7. Larue, G. A. (1999, There they go again! Humanist, , 16-21. Retrieved
from https://sks.sirs.com