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Modern Family’s
Cameron and Mitchell
adopted baby Lily

5
The country is divided over the
issue and NSW MPs are set to
debate it this week

yes
Senthorun Raj,
Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby
policy coordinator

WHAT makes a good family? For me the

answer is simple – love and stability. When
I think about what made my childhood happy,
I’m reminded about the support and love I had
What do
DEBATE
from my parents, not their different genders.
Comforting a child, disciplining, encouraging you think?
Emailgrazialetters@
and loving them are not qualities specific to acpmagazines.com.au

SHOULD
one gender or another. And whether you are
capable of “natural” procreation or not, no
one has a right to a child.

we legalise
Children should have the best possible
parents, whoever they may be. If my partner
and I wanted to adopt, I’d hope we were

SAME-SEX
judged on the quality of our character and
our objective merits, not simply excluded on
the basis of our sexual orientation.
If gay couples aren’t allowed to adopt it

sends a powerful social message that
same‑sex families are less legitimate than
their heterosexual counterparts. No wonder
people fear children in same-sex families
will be teased or marginalised, when the
laws promote such stigma.
And what about children already being
raised by same-sex parents? Should I wish to,
I couldn’t adopt my partner’s child as
a “step-parent”. If my partner were to die,
I would have no claim of parentage.
If I were a long-term foster carer, my
child wouldn’t have a legally recognised
parent after they turn 18. Why? Because as
a same-sex couple, we’re denied the right
to adopt children we’re already raising.
Denying my child rights to automatic
inheritance, entitlement to my superannuation
or even child support following a relationship
breakdown discriminates against them, not me.
I believe children deserve the right to
security and stability, regardless of who their
parents are. After all, how can it be in a child’s
best interests not to have two legally
recognised parents?
ADOPTIONS
no
Andrew Stoner,
NSW Nationals leader
CAN TWO dads fulfil the functions of
a mother? My wife provides a unique type
of love and care to our children, one that
perfectly complements my role.
I feel having both a female and male role
model in our family best equips our kids to
deal with the challenges of modern life.
As a father of six children, I can’t support
a bill depriving a child of a mother or father.
US personality Rosie O’Donnell, who has
adopted three children in a same-sex family
setting, and who I can imagine would be an
amazing mother, told Larry King her son had
once said to her, “I wish we had a daddy.”
Rosie said: “In our family, I think there is
a loss, and to acknowledge there isn’t would
be, you know, foolish and you’d be in denial.”
I know there are same-sex couples who
love the children in their care very much.
I also know there are heterosexual couples
that make terrible parents.
Property ownership, tax, superannuation –
these are all issues where same-sex couples
have every reason to push for their rights and
have done so successfully. I don’t put the
adoption of children in the same category.
Aside from national security and law and
order, the fundamental responsibility of
government is the protection of the most
vulnerable in our society.
I believe a child’s needs take precedence
over an adult’s needs or desires and shouldn’t
be placed at risk because of the wish to
remove perceived discrimination in law,
however well-intentioned that wish is.
www.grazia.com.au 23