The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest civil rights organization dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality, denounced former Pennsylvania senator and presidential hopeful Rick Santorum’s comments that adoption is a privilege that gay people are not entitled to. Despite the fact that over 100,000 children and youth across the country are in need of a loving home, and years of research that confirms sexual orientation has nothing to do with one’s ability to raise a child, Santorum continues to tell lies about LGBT families and myths about child welfare.
“If Rick Santorum wants to talk about family values, he should talk about the need to find permanent homes for every child – that is a value we all share,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “At a time when we have a child welfare crisis on our hands, Rick Santorum resorts to spreading lies about our families. The leading child welfare experts agree that adoptive parents should be judged by their character and their ability to raise a child, not their marital status or sexual orientation.”
The Child Welfare League of America, the nation’s oldest and largest child welfare organization, opposes restrictions on adoption and believes that applicants should be assessed on their ability to parent a child, not on their marital status or sexual orientation. The North American Council on Adoptable Children opposes laws and legislation that restrict the consideration of prospective foster and adoptive parents based on their sexual orientation.
“It is distressing that too many politicians are turning to their old games of discrimination and prejudice, on the backs of our children and families, to get attention,” said Ellen Kahn, Director of HRC’s Family Project and a professional social worker. “Years of research, public opinion, and the child welfare profession conclude that discrimination is not in the best interest of the children. They simply delay or deny access to stable, loving homes and force kids to languish in the foster care system.”
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