Menstuff® has information on Gay Fathers.
I
happily submit this photo of me, my husband and our sweet baby boy
who was born on Jan. 6, 2013. Our family was created through the
miracle of open adoption, and we will be forever grateful for our
son's birthmother and birthfather!
Direct short-cut to this page: http://bit.ly/19NMxBV
The new battleground for same-sex couples is
equal rights for their kids
Controversy Surrounding Gay
Fathers
Kordale And Kaleb, Gay Black Fathers,
Respond To Twitter Outrage Over Instagram
Books
The new battleground for same-sex couples is
equal rights for their kids
In the majority opinion, Justice Kennedy cited the infringement of the interests of children being raised by same-sex couples as one reason for the Court’s ruling.
Who are these kids? An estimated 220,000 children under the age of 18 are being raised in same-sex families in the United States. Half are nonwhite.
Protecting kids' rights
My research, scholarship and advocacy efforts have focused on children, particularly black children, for the past 10 years. In an amicus brief filed in Obergefell – the Supreme Court case that ended same-sex marriage bans – my coauthors and I highlighted the legal and economic deprivations children in these families suffer when their parents can’t marry.
We cited landmark Supreme Court cases that make clear that children should not be punished, stigmatized or discriminated against by government action.
Brown v Board of Education, a landmark civil rights case, was one of the cases we relied on because it represents a high-water mark in the Supreme Court’s recognition of children’s constitutional rights. The plaintiffs in that case were black children asserting their constitutional rights against discrimination by state governments mandating segregated schools.
The Supreme Court cited our amicus brief to support its conclusion that constitutional protection of same-sex marriage affords children “the permanency and stability important to children’s best interests.”
Despite this acknowledgment, the Supreme Court’s opinion is preoccupied with the rights of adults and the expansion of the right to marry. It leaves children in same-sex families at risk.
Legal challenges
Children born into same-sex families frequently are biologically related to only one parent, and the law recognizes only that one parent. The legal status of the child’s relationship with her nonbiological parent varies from state to state.
Had the Obergefell decision been more focused on the rights of children in same-sex families, its ruling could have ensured that children’s relationships with their nonbiological parents were legally recognized and protected.
However, the opinion failed to reference children’s rights explicitly. As a result, as recent developments in state courts reveal, the rights of children in same-sex families remain vulnerable.
No marital presumption
The law referred to as the marital or paternity presumption automatically recognizes a legal parent-child relationship between children born into a marriage and their mothers' husbands – without considering biology. In most states, this law affords legally enforceable rights to both the father and the child.
A New York court recently ruled that the presumption does not apply to same-sex spouses, reasoning that the “presumption of legitimacy … is one of a biological relationship, not of legal status.”
In Florida, three sets of same-sex spouses filed suit in federal court challenging the refusal of state officials to put both parents' names on their children’s birth certificates.
Second-parent adoptions and parenting judgments, which are alternative ways of creating a legal parent-child relationship, could protect children’s relationships with their nonbiological parents. However, even in the dozen or so states that permit adoptions by same-sex spouses, those adoptions are not always recognized in sister states.
Three months after the Obergefell decision, the Alabama Supreme Court refused to recognize a lesbian mother’s adoption of her three nonbiological children granted by a Georgia court in 2007. The court reasoned that Alabama does not need to respect the adoptions because it determined the Georgia court didn’t properly apply Georgia law when granting them.
Loss of wealth
Even after the Obergefell decision, children are being deprived of important legal, economic and social benefits and protections that would result from a legal parental relationship with both of their parents.
Children in same-sex families are losing out on worker’s compensation benefits, social security benefits, state health insurance, civil service benefits, inheritance and wrongful death proceeds. Denial of these benefits could deprive children of thousands – or in rare cases, even millions – of dollars.
Children can also be deprived of the benefit of parental decision-making authority when it comes to health decisions, securing a passport and registering for school.
Imagine a boy is being raised by two mothers. If his biological mother dies, his “other mother” would have no custody claim. The boy could end up in foster care.
Such laws can have a powerful and adverse financial and legal impact.
According to the Williams Institute, which the Supreme Court cited in Obergefell, same-sex families raising children are twice as likely to earn incomes near the poverty level.
Many of these children are already challenged by experiences informed by their race, ethnicity and socieoeconomic status. Depriving this demographic of important financial and legal protections renders them even more vulnerable. It also compromises the permanency and stability the majority of the Supreme Court recognized as important to children’s interests.
The next round of litigation relating to same-sex families should
focus on children’s rights to legal parentage by both of their
parents. Children should be the plaintiffs in these cases, and like
the children in Brown v. Board of Education, their rights should
command constitutional protection.
Source: theconversation.com/the-new-battleground-for-same-sex-couples-is-equal-rights-for-their-kids-48062
Controversy Surrounding Gay Fathers
The controversy surrounding gay fathers and their rights has been evident for decades. Although recently these rights and discriminations have been viewed in more detail, the problems associated with gay fathers still remain evident.
There are thousands of children living in gay couple households today. Many people believe that homosexuality is wrong, therefore children should not be allowed to be adopted by gay fathers. They believe that it is unsafe and homosexuality is a mentally disabling disorder. However, it has been scientifically proven that homosexuality does not effect the brain or mental stability in any way or form.
The public and the world play a vital role in ensuring that these rights are being enforced. Unfortunately, many of the views that pubic has against the gay community are not always positive. However, there are many groups and organizations that put forth effort in trying to change the way the public views gay fathers.
It has also been proven that children being raised by lesbian mothers and gay fathers develop in much the same way is fathers who are straight. So, many of the arguments and debates against the gay adoptive fathers are obviously based on discrimination. Unfortunately, many of these biased people’s opinions are taken into effect when voting is allowed.
There is no conclusive evidence that homosexuality is linked to the environment. So the argument of a gay households not being suitable or fit for children is weak. It has been proven, however, that many successful individuals have been raised by adoptive gay fathers without the mental side effects that are supposedly going to be evident.
Studies have shown that children are more influenced by their interactions than by the sexual orientation of their gay fathers. There is no liable reason why gay and lesbian people should be unable to adopt. Adoptive gay fathers rights should be the same for gay and lesbian fathers wishing to adopt. The sad thing is, in many states, it is not. And right now, there are still several people fighting to ban this right completely.
Gay adoptive parents are forced to face the reality that the society in which they live in is not always accepting of their lifestyles. Unfortunately, the society is the one with the right to vote, and these discriminating views are made permanent in the event of a vote. Florida is fighting to ban the allowance of gay adoption, but has been unsuccessful so far.
In conclusion, the controversial topic of gay adoptive parents is one that has been argued for years. Although many people believe that a homosexual lifestyle is unfit for children, however it has yet to be proven. Fortunately, there are many people fighting to enforce the rights of the gay and lesbian community. The efforts of these people enable the chance of a child in need of a home to be able to find the security they desire and so deeply need in the home of a gay parent. After all, what does sexual preference have to do with children?
It is an all too sad reality that gay fathers are faced with the
discriminating truth of fewer rights than heterosexual parents. When
adoption comes into place, the discrimination becomes evidently
stronger. Fortunately, there are numerous homosexual rights
committees which are striving to change these facts.
Source: www.syl.com/articles/controversysurroundinggayfathers.html
Kordale And Kaleb, Gay Black Fathers,
Respond To Twitter Outrage Over Instagram
Kordale and Kaleb are two proud dads who have developed a substantial following on social media over the past several months. However, the pair's most recent Instagram photo reportedly sparked a wave of homophobic backlash through Twitter users who seemed to take issue with the idea of two gay black men raising children together.
As reported by NewNowNext, many of the negative tweets have since been deleted. However, even some of the positive reactions to the photo seemed problematic, such as "finally a black gay couple."
Mused Magazine reported that most of the positive reactions seemed to hit on two key points: "1. The fact that this was a black gay couple. 2. That it was nice to see black men taking care of children."
The controversy surrounding this photo raises larger cultural
questions about expectations of masculinity and parenting, as well as
what types of bodies and experiences are considered "normal" when
talking about the LGBT community. (Scroll to
the end of the individual photos to the gallery. Great examples of
LGBT people raising kids. For one thing, these two guys look to
be a considerably better example of physical health than probably 95%
of the people shopping in that mall that day - Editor)
Source: www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/17/gay-black-dads-twitter_n_4617226.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular
 |