Subscribe to Breaking News
Loading ...Concerns mount over Ohio adoption rules
03.10.2009 12:00pm EDT
(Cincinnati, Ohio) Butler County commissioners have asked the county prosecutor to review a new rule by the Children Services Agency that could be used to discriminate against gay and unmarried couples. Butler County is in suburban Cincinnati.
The county run adoption service allows caseworkers to give preference to legally married opposite-sex couples. Single people, unmarried opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples say the policy puts them at a disadvantage.The agency instituted the rule in December, but it came to light only last week.
“It’s not proper and, obviously, we don’t agree with it,” Commissioner Charles Furmon told The Cincinnati Enquirer. “You can’t show favoritism for one group over another.”
Furmon also said that the policy could put the county and Children Services at risk for lawsuits.
Agency director Michael Fox denies the policy is discriminatory, since it does not impose an outright ban on non-legally married couples from adopting or fostering.
“I would encourage the commissioners to first read the actual rule. It says that the trump card in all of these decisions is the best interest of the child. The rule does not say a single parent cannot adopt. It does not say that people with alternative lifestyles can’t adopt,” Fox told The Enquirer.
He said the policy is based on studies that show children from married households are more likely to succeed.
The studies, however, are countered by others that show no difference in children reared by same- and opposite-sex couples.
The policy also has raised the interest of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Fox cited studies that said children who come from married homes are more likely to succeed as part of the reason for the rule.
Of course he just said married homes. Because same-sex couples cannot legally marry, then they of course wouldn’t be preferenced to adopt.
This reminiscent of the single adopt ban that is going through the state legislature in Kentucky. That legislation will ban all single people from adopting. And because same-sex couples cannot marry in Kentucky, they are legally single and will not be able to adopt.
I think these policies are taking things a little bit too far. I mean, discriminating against single heteroes to keep the gays from adopting? That’s a bit much don’t ya think?
http://stuffqueerpeopleneedtoknow.wordpress.com/
At least Ohio got rid of its GOP gov and has in Strickland a gay-friendly DEM gov.
The state voted or passed this ugly amendment before Strickland’s time as gov and he has to live with it.
I was raised in Ohio. It was an OK life as young boy years ago in that state, but I will stay in the Montgomery County MD suburbs of DC. My state MD and my local area is represented by several gay-friendly officeholders in the MD statehouse and in the US congress. MD’s two US senators are gay-friendly and progressive. Our local rep in Congress is gay-friendly.
MD has a long way to go, but it stands far above OH, WV, VA, PA and DE in gay rights and in livability for gays than any of those other states. MD has more in common with NJ than with those other states MD has a gov who is willing for at least civil unions even though MD gays mostly want marriage equality over civil unions having seen the problems with civil unions in nearby NJ. I don’t see civil anything happening in any of those other states. Not in DE with its rapidly increasing gay population in lower Delaware as long as some the top DE homophobes hold seats in the DE statehouse. The oldest homophobe Thurman Adams is 79 and said to be in his last term ever there. There is still the homophobe Venables who may be still there for a while until some future progay opponent defeats him at the polls.
MD will have civil unions before DE even though there is talk I was told in DE of a civil unions bill there before long. MD is more advanced than DE in that regard.
This is pure Ohio–and just because it was in Republican-controlled Butler County doesn’t mean that Dems wouldn’t do the same. Ohio’s been circling the drain for 25 years, and every year it’s gotten worse and worse. Why focus on real problems when you can deny, deny, deny, and pass laws micromanaging other peoples’ lives? Ohio is plummeting in every positive economic measure. Can’t clean up the massive nepotism and cronyism, the over-government, the ridiculous tax system (Proctor and Gamble and Limited Stores pay about as much state income tax as I do), the combination of collapsing Third-World urban areas and intractible Appalachian poverty, university tuition that averages $9000 a year at a state school…and the answer is to blame those gays. No coincidence that gays flee from here.
I am from Canton, Ohio. For 22 of 50 years I put up with the closet, then the crap small minded people have the nerve to say out loud. I have shared the small bones and victories and watched the long struggle Cincinnati had. We are not welcome in Ohio, by any means, and the city of Cincinnati will be stepping back in time rather than forward. Shame on them for even suggesting such a change. We were removed from the state list of anti-discrimination after being on the list for years and the same year Bush cheated for the second time, my state passed an ban on any type of recognition of a relationship outside of marriage of one man and one woman. It was a very sad day. We live in Baltimore now and have never had one problem with anyone. The diversity and level of acceptance is such a relief. Not to say that Maryland does not have a few problems of their own, but it beat the crap out of Ohio.
I’m from Cincinnati and this is one huge step back for the area. I’m sure people who work with COAST are pushing this. If you want to learn about a crazy conservative group look up COAST. They constantly work against progressive ideas and only help to push Hamilton, Warren and Butler counties back 20 years in progress. If the world ends move to Cincinnati, you’ll have 20 mores years to live.
Randy, you make an excellent point. I wonder why we do not demand people correct inappropriate characterization of the issues at hand.
When someone says “alternative lifestyle” I would call them out. When someone says “pro life” I correct them (anti abortion rights) and when someone says “gay marriage” I point out it is marriage equality.
I know we can’t expect everyone to look out for our words, but there are many things not related to us that are important and demanding appropriate lets them get away with it.
What do “alternative lifestyles” have to do with same-sex parents adopting? Alternative to what?
According to studies published for the May ruling in CA, the APA has found that same-sex couples that have officially been joined (either civil unions, domestic partnerships, fullon marriage, or otherwise) and opposite-sex married couples raise similarly adjusted children.
The arguments that single parents and same-sex couples that are not in official couplings does not hold water to me because based on research, they are not as successful a parent as an opposite sex or same-sex official pairing.
I guess the added crutch is that in Ohio, same-sex couples cannot get officially paired.