Comments on: Anti-gay adoption bill filed in Tennessee

By: The Bilerico Project

The Bilerico Project — Sat, 10 May 2008 18:30:50 +0000

Poisonous Parenting: Confused, Pt. 1…

I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole yesterday. During a (rare) quiet moment, I took some time to catch up on my news/blog reading. And I finally started reading a collection of news stories that I’d quietly tucked away until I could actually bring myse…

By: Anti-gay adoption frenzy spreads to Tennessee · InterstateQ.com » LGBT news/opinion from Matt Comer, journalist, activist

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:40:10 +0000

[...] seems as though the same anti-queer frenzy on gay adoption has spread to neighboring Tennessee. On Jan. 30, a Tennessee State House member and State Senate member introduced two companion bills [...]

By: Mombian » Blog Archive » Weekly Political Roundup

Mombian » Blog Archive » Weekly Political Roundup — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 19:33:53 +0000

Two Tennessee legislators, Rep. John Deberry (D-Memphis) and Senator Paul Stanley (R-Memphis) filed bills to prohibit unmarried, cohabitating individuals from adopting children.

By: Blayne Clements

Blayne Clements — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:43:32 +0000

Good article David. Thought you may interested that I wrote a letter to my state elected officials asking them to not support the bills. here is the letter.

Sen. Kurita and Rep. Johnson,

I would like to ask you to not support SB3910 and HB3713 introduced by Sen. DeBerry and Rep. Stanley respectively. These bills deny gay couples the right to adopt a child. A persons sexual orientation alone should not be a factor (much less THE determining factor) when trying to find a parentless child an alternative to an lonely orphange.

Has anyone asked the children about this? Would they prefer a institutional orphange over a loving gay couple? Kids that are up for adoption already have one strike against them in life. They deserve that all Tennesseans give them all the chances available to get them out of the system and into a supportive home.

As always (though hardly ever recieved), I would appreciate hearing your position on this issue. Thank you for your service to our great state.

By: Christine Anne Piesyk

Christine Anne Piesyk — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:39:10 +0000

I am forever amazed at the hoops adoptive parents jump through (more so for non-traditional families, it seems)in their quest to give an otherwise unwanted child a loving home. Adoption is a conscious, carefully thought out choice; not simple, not easy. It is a life commitment, not made lightly or rooted in impulse. A decision to adopt is a decision that is all about love.

Adoptive parents are closely scrutinized on everything from income to abilities before they can be granted the blessing of a child in their home. How many natural (non-adoptive) parents could pass the same muster?

To deny a child the potential of family (regardless of the form of that family) is unconscionable. Legislating the structure of family based on race, marital status, creed, or sexual orientation (or anything else) is outright discrimination.

We cannot legislate love or family.