The Ongoing Struggle For A Family Essays - Sexual Orientation, LGBT

The Ongoing Struggle For A Family The Ongoing Struggle for a Family ?The most important thing in a family is that all the people in it love each other.? This excerpt is from a children's book, written by Leslea Newman, Called ?Heather Has Two Mommies.? This story is intended to show kids that not everyone's family is the same. Many reasons are given to dispute gay and lesbian parenting but all founded on some of the archaic beliefs that Hitler used to kill homosexuals during W.W.II, fear and prejudice! Although having children and being parents seems like a basic human right or choice, many people believe that the government should have the authority to discriminate who can are cannot have children, regardless of their parenting skills. Some say that it is unnatural for gay and lesbians to have children because they have to go to such extremes to have them (Oppos ..199). It is kind of ironic because it has become mainstream for heterosexual couples that are determined infertile to use artificial insemination, adoption, and even invitro-fertilization, and when one of these procedures is successful the couple is said to have had a miracle, while the gay or lesbian couple is said to be fanatical. Lesbian couples may use sperm banks, or they may become coparents with a gay couple that also wishes to have children. In these cases the child has 4 loving and nurturing parents instead of the standard 2. Noom 2 Another opposing view is that all gays and lesbians are sexually promiscuous, therefore have HIV/AIDS, and their relationships are not stable enough to have children (Oppos..199). ?Lesbians and gays love and form deep and lasting commitments just like heterosexuals. To claim otherwise is to declare that lesbians and gays are somehow not human and ignore the reality of their lives,? (New Civil..125) Laws and social views seem be conflicted on what they want because they say gay/lesbian relationships are not stable, but than deny them the right to marry, therefore through laws and legislation the are not promoting the behavior that they seem to require. HIV/AIDS is a horrible disease and truthfully is a major concern in the gay community, but it is because of the stereotypes, lack of education, and knowledge about the disease itself that this disease was able to attack many gay males. Although HIV/AIDS is a concern for people in general the number of lesbian women with it is almost non-existent. Does this mean that heterosexual couples that have HIV/AIDS are not having children? No, countless articles can be found about drug using prostitutes that give birth to a baby with HIV and still retains custody. While in 1997, a women named Sharon Bottoms loses her child in Virginia to her mother for being gay, ?active lesbianism practiced in the home may pose a burden upon the child by reason of ?Social Condemnation' attached to such an arrangement? the state Supreme Court stated (issues..36). All hope is not lost though, in June of 1997 an Ohio appeals court upheld that, ?sexual orientation alone, has no relevance to a decision concerning the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities,? (Issues..37) Many people believe that gays and lesbians shouldn't have kids because the child will be molested and/or be mal adjusted as a youth and adult. ?Lesbians and gays are inherently sick and prey on children. Giving them custody of children opens those children up to sexual abuse. They cannot raise healthy children,? (Oppos..199). Noom 3 The statistics certainly do not support these statements, ?Adults who sexually molest children are a diverse group. No one race, religion level of intelligence, level of education, occupation, or income sets perpetrators apart from the rest of the population,? (New Civil.. 78). One thing is clear, most often a child molester is a heterosexual male who is acquainted with the victim (New Civil..78). Others believe that a child of a homosexual is most likely going to be a homosexual, and even if they are not they will have a hard time growing up due to the teasing and stereotypes of their classmates and community. Studies have proved these beliefs false, ?Although studies have assessed over 300 offspring of gay or lesbian parents in 12 different samples, no evidence has been found for significant disturbances of any kind in the development of sexual identity.? they go on to say that, ? the same held true for moral development, intelligence, and peer relationships,? (New Civil..132). Like all children, kids from gay and lesbian