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Tuesday, March 27, 2007

$130,000,000

posted by on March 27 at 14:24 PM

One hundred and thirty million dollars: That’s what banning adoptions by gay and lesbian couples will cost the the US foster care system. Per year. The Williams Institute at the UCLA Law School released the results of a study today on gay and lesbian adoptive parents. Using census data, the Williams Institute found that not only can gays and lesbians be good parents, not only are same-sex couples already adopting and parenting children, but same-sex couples often possess the very traits that state agencies look for when they’re recruiting foster parents:

Same-sex couples raising adopted children are older, more educated, and have more economic resources than other adoptive parents.

Another interesting finding: While half of gay men say they want to be parents, only 41% of lesbians do.

Why will it costs the states money if they ban adoptions by same-sex couples? Because there are already half a million children in foster care right now, and 100,000 children waiting to be adopted. Gays and lesbians are often willing to adopt children that same-sex couples are not: older children, infants with HIV, children with drug and alcohol exposure. Remove same-sex couples from the pool of potential adoptive parents and more children will remain in foster care longer. Some will remain in foster care forever.

Some states already ban gays and lesbians from fostering or adopting children: Florida, Mississippi and Utah. Florida, famously, forbids adoption by same-sex couples but allows same-sex couples to serve as foster parents.

According to Mother Jones, eleven states—California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Vermont—and Washington D.C. forbid agencies from using sexual orientation as a basis to prevent adoptions or turn away potential foster parents.

Hello, Ed Murray and Jamie Pederson? Why isn’t Washington state on this list?

RSS icon Comments

1

Hey Dan, looks like this entry was posted twice.

Posted by COMTE | March 27, 2007 2:29 PM
2

just goes to show you how ironicly the word "conservative" is used these days--it's been highjacked by the radical right, who are actually anything but conservative. the moderates should lead a campaign to take back the word.

Posted by ellarosa | March 27, 2007 2:39 PM
3

Thanks, Comte. Fixed.

Posted by Dan Savage | March 27, 2007 2:41 PM
4

"Hello, Ed Murray and Jamie Pederson? Why isn’t Washington state on this list?"

Why not extend your "Hello" to Frank Chopp, Christine Gregoire, and the rest of the gang in Olympia? No, they're not gay, but they are just as responsible for this issue as Ed and Jamie.

Interesting post.

Posted by Sean | March 27, 2007 3:01 PM
5

Jamie Pedersen is a twit. I don't expect him to do anything worthwhile, let alone anything having to do with gays. If the law said that Preston, Gates, and Ellis employees couldn't adopt, then he'd be on it.

Ed Murray isn't the brightest or most proactive bulb in the box either.

Posted by bitter 43rd voter | March 27, 2007 3:07 PM
6

"Why not extend your "Hello" to Frank Chopp, Christine Gregoire, and the rest of the gang in Olympia?"

Bah. Gregoire would probably reject it, in one of her many efforts to convince rural/Eastern WA voters she's One Of Them.

Posted by tsm | March 27, 2007 3:16 PM
7

"I don't expect him to do anything worthwhile, let alone anything having to do with gays."

Don't the countless hours he spent lawyering pro bono for gay marriage have anything to do with gays?

Anyway, I see your point - the gay rights movement needs fewer people like Jamie who work their asses off for the cause, and more people like you who sit on their asses and bitch.

Posted by Sean | March 27, 2007 3:29 PM
8

Actually I ask where is Dan Savage on this issue? Oh yeah, he like me and countless others sit and type at the key board. Dan, what was that time and date you had scheduled to lobby in Olympia for adoption and sexual orientation to be seperated? All the fucking finger pointing gets so old. Yeah yeah "we" elected "them". Well if that's the case, get your firm butt down to Olympia and lobby "them". Take the words of Larry Kramer seriously, don't wait for someone else to do something, you do it because it's right.

Posted by Sargon Bighorn | March 27, 2007 7:18 PM
9

What exactly is lobbying other than complaining in *person* that politicians need to do something about the problem?

Posted by katherine | March 28, 2007 7:55 AM
10

#8, I think _The Kid_ has raised awareness of gay adoption. So has _The Commitment_.

Posted by JenK | March 28, 2007 8:34 AM

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