Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese made the
following statement on June 29th as the Arkansas Supreme Court handed down a
ruling saying that no connection exists between a foster child's
well-being and sexual orientation of a parent. Any attempt to deny
foster children a home headed by a gay family was ruled
unconstitutional.
"The Arkansas Supreme Court has ruled that all children in foster care
deserve to be placed in good homes without discriminatory politics
standing in the way," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe
Solmonese. "Every child welfare organization has said for years that
sexual orientation has no impact on a person's ability to be a good
parent. We give enormous thanks to the plaintiffs in this case and the
American Civil Liberties Union, which represented these families. Their
stories and seven-year fight for fairness have likely resulted in
hundreds of potential homes opening up for children in need."
Solmonese continued, "The tide is turning toward fairness for all
families. This year, the two states to ban foster parenting for gay
parents have had to face sound science and reverse their
politically-charged and discriminatory policies. With Missouri and now
Arkansas moving toward fairness for foster children, there are no
explicit restrictions on foster parenting by gay parents."
In 1999, the Arkansas Child Welfare Agency Review Board adopted a
regulation barring private child welfare agencies and the state
Department of Human Services from allowing gay and lesbian people to
serve as foster parents. In December 2004, however, an Arkansas court
ruled that this regulation was unconstitutional. The state's highest
court affirmed the lower court's ruling on June 29, 2006.
Leslie Cooper and James Esseks of the ACLU's Lesbian Gay Bisexual
Transgender Project, and ACLU of Arkansas cooperating attorney John
Burnett represented the prospective foster parents. More information on
the case, Howard v. Child Welfare Agency Review Board, can be found
online at http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/parenting/12137res20050301.html
Enviroshop is maintained by dedicated NetSys Interactive Inc. owners & employees who generously contribute their time to maintenance & editing, web design, custom programming, & website hosting for Enviroshop.