skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, April 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Tribal advocates keep up legal pressure for fair political maps; 12-member jury sworn in for Trump's historic criminal trial; the importance of healthcare decision planning; and a debt dilemma: poll shows how many people wrestle with college costs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Civil rights activists say a court ruling could end the right to protest in three southern states, a federal judge lets January 6th lawsuits proceed against former President Trump, and police arrest dozens at a Columbia University Gaza protest.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural Wyoming needs more vocational teachers to sustain its workforce pipeline, Ohio environmental advocates fear harm from a proposal to open 40-thousand forest acres to fracking and rural communities build bike trail systems to promote nature, boost the economy.

Marriage Equality Advances; LGBT Adoption – Not So Much

play audio
Play

Monday, July 22, 2013   

HARTFORD, Conn. - Two Supreme Court rulings have advanced the cause of marriage equality, and 13 states plus the District of Columbia now allow same-sex marriage. But what about LGBT couples and individuals who want to adopt children?

According to Ellen Kahn of the Human Rights Coalition, that area too has opened up some, but she said much more needs to be done.

"If you call and say 'I'm a gay man. My partner and I are interested in adopting,' there are still places that will say 'No, thank you,' and hang up the phone," Kahn declared.

She said however that even in the most conservative states there are pathways to LGBT adoption, and work on expanding it continues in legislatures and courts. She said she senses that a corner has been turned, and that as marriage equality spreads, adoption will correspondingly become easier.

Becky Fawcett is co-founder of HelpUsAdopt.org, which raises money and offers grants to help people with the enormous costs of adoption. A non-discriminatory policy has been a cornerstone of their work, but it hasn't always been popular.

"We do have some donors who leave because of our stance on what a family is," she admitted. "And I have lost prospective board members for our stance. And I have received hate mail because of our stance."

She said that around 15 to 20 percent of her group's grants have gone to LGBT adopters, but she wishes more would apply.

Ellen Kahn sees hesitancy, too.

"A lot of LGBT folks and same-sex couples who want to adopt are afraid to take that first step because, you know, there is a fear that 'We're going to be scrutinized differently than other folks,' or that 'We're going to just be met with a no.'"

Kahn believes the momentum in the state-by-state move toward marriage equality can only make things better regarding adoption.

Fawcett agrees.

"I think with all the states coming on board with marriage equality I am hopeful that there will be more LGBT families adopting. And we are here to help," she said.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The Bureau of Land Management's newly issued Public Lands Rule is designed to safeguard cultural resources such as New Mexico's Chaco Culture National Park. (Photo courtesy SallyPaez)

Environment

play sound

Balancing the needs of the many with those who have traditionally reaped benefits from public lands is behind a new rule issued Thursday by the Bureau…


Health and Wellness

play sound

Alzheimer's disease is the eighth-leading cause of death in Pennsylvania. A documentary on the topic debuts Saturday in Pittsburgh. "Remember Me: …

Social Issues

play sound

April is Financial Literacy Month, when the focus is on learning smart money habits but also how to protect yourself from fraud. One problem on the …


Outdoor recreation added $11.7 million to the Arizona economy in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Arizona conservation groups and sportsmen alike say they're pleased the Bureau of Land Management will now recognize conservation as an integral part …

play sound

Across the U.S., most political boundaries tied to the 2020 Census have been in place for a while, but a national project on map fairness for …

The 2023 Annie E. Casey Foundation Data Book ranked Arkansas 37th in the nation for education, and said 56% of young children were not in preschool programs to help get them ready for school. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The need for child care and early learning is critical, especially in rural Arkansas. One nonprofit is working to fill those gaps by giving providers …

Environment

play sound

An annual march for farmworkers' rights is being held Sunday in northwest Washington. This year, marchers are focusing on the conditions for local …

Social Issues

play sound

A new Gallup and Lumina Foundation poll unveils a concerning reality: Hoosiers may lack clarity about the true cost of higher education. The survey …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021