A Republican congressperson was caught on tape deflecting a question about whether same-sex parents were as good as others, suggesting that children in need of adoption could go to orphanages instead.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) was speaking with student constituents at Colts Neck High School back in May. Senior Hannah Valdes told him she has a gay sister who wants to adopt a child with her partner, and asked him why he felt this wasn’t appropriate, reports the Washington Blade. Smith fumbled for a reply, beginning “In my opinion a child needs every possibility of,” then veering into saying, “Somebody mentioned orphanages before. I mean, orphanages are still a possibility for some kids.”
Valdes also told the Blade that another student asked him about his votes in favor of a 1999 amendment to ban adoption by gay parents in D.C. Smith said “gay households are not healthy environments for children to grow up in,” Valdes reported, adding, “He then stated that ‘numerous household studies’ show that children that have heterosexual parents have better lives than children that have homosexual parents.”
Once more for the people in the back: That’s not true.
Over 75 studies of children with gay or lesbian parents compiled by the What We Know project at Cornell University (formerly at Columbia University) have found that “children of gay or lesbian parents fare no worse than other children,” versus only four studies that concluded “children of gay or lesbian parents face added disadvantages.” And a new study out this year, not yet added to the What We Know list, is part of the longest-running study on queer parents, the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study. I interviewed its principal investigator, Dr. Nanette Gartrell, in July, about her latest results, which show “no significant differences in measures of mental health” between comparable groups of 25-year-olds raised by same-sex and different-sex parents.
Studies aside, LGBTQ people have been raising children for decades, and an estimated six million people have a same-sex parent. (Even more have parents across the LGBTQ spectrum.) If we were so incapable, there would be a whole lot more maladjusted people running around, and the ties to same-sex parents would be more obvious. That’s not the case.
Smith’s words are not only misguided, but also harmful to children. More than 440,000 children are currently in foster care, 117,000 of whom are waiting for adoption, and approximately two million LGB adults are interested in adopting, according to one study. We can’t afford to turn away any qualified parents—and nothing about being LGBTQ in itself disqualifies anyone. Yet 10 states now make it legal to refuse to “place and provide services to children and families, including LGBT people and same-sex couples, if doing so conflicts with their religious beliefs.” Is that really in the best interests of children who need homes? I don’t think so.
My own son, while not adopted, was born in New Jersey (although we no longer live there) and he seems pretty well adjusted. I still have friends and family in the state. You can be sure I’ll be telling them about Smith’s words and why his views are dangerous.