Essay # 3
Word Count: 1,345
Does It Really Matter? The topic for this essay was chosen because it is similar to a reading that is called Why Tough Teachers Get Good Results. That reading includes the effects of strict parents on children so the choice was made to research the effects of gay parents on children. Children are born and raised in the United States every day. Many of the people that have these children are legally married and would be considered to be just another average American family, on the other hand there are also many other couples and single parents in the United States today that have a more unique type of parenting relationship with their partner and children. There are thousands of gay and lesbian parents in the United States today that do all of the same things that a straight couple would do. Thirty seven states in the union have made same-sex marriage legal. Many people across the country are very much so against the idea of gay and lesbian couples having children or getting married, however the facts prove that gay and lesbian couples are fully capable of raising children. “Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the United States enter into different types of committed relationships and form their own families that often include children. Some LGBT people have custody of biological children from previous heterosexual marriages, while others may take in foster children, adopt children, or employ sperm donors or surrogate mothers in order to bear a biological child” (Wexelbaum). The idea of homosexual couples having children is still very new to people. Many people that are against homosexual adoptions are just concerned about the child’s wellbeing and success and do not understand how gay and lesbian couples can raise their own kids to have normal lives. In 1977 there was a law established in the state of Florida stating that gays and lesbians could not adopt a child under any circumstances. During the 1990’s the state of Florida decided to let gay and lesbian people adopt children, but only if that child was HIV positive or if the child had full blown AIDS. In 2010, the state of Florida banned the law that established the ban of homosexual adoptions and made same-sex adoptions completely legal. For one to say that homosexual people are incapable of raising any of their own children is just statistically untrue. “The 2010 US Census reported that an estimated 594,000 same-sex couples live in the United States, and that 115,000 same-sex couples reported having children. Eighty-four percent of these households included biological children of one or both partners. According to the Williams Institute, as many as six million children and adults may have at least one LGBT parent” (Waxelbaum). The US Census shows that same-sex parents are everywhere in the United States and they raise many children on their own and make proper guardians despite what some people would think. Just because two people of the same sexual orientation decide to adopt or raise a child that they currently have does not mean that they are unfit parents. Being a homosexual parent would be an extremely hard thing to have to undergo since so many people in the United States seem to look down on others for being homosexual. Many same-sex couples are hesitant when it comes to adopting a child of their own due to the fact that perhaps other children would make fun of them for having homosexual parents. Children can be cruel to other children during their younger years simply because of the fact that children are not use to seeing other kids with two fathers or two mothers. Some people that are homosexual are forced to enter into a straight marriage in fear of what others may say or do. Back when same-sex marriage was still illegal in most states many people that were homosexual and desired children had to have children with a person of the opposite sex just so they could have children and not be ridiculed for