february 5.1 9 9 9 ? J u t o u t j j news ome government officials are seeking to preclude gay men and lesbians from adopting or becoming foster par­ ents; Texas and Arkansas are two of the current battlegrounds. In the Lone Star state, bills have been intro­ duced in the Legislature that would deny these rights to lesbians and gay men. In Arkansas, a recently created Child Wel­ fare Review Board is pushing to make Arkansas the second state to ban gay men and lesbians from being foster parents. (The ban must pass more hurdles before it takes effect.) ‘‘These are big pieces of legislation. They will be important to defeat and very difficult to defeat, but we’re already holding meetings in every city in Texas,” says Dianne Hardy-Garcia, the executive director of the Lesbian and Gay Rights Lobby of Texas. “I want people to under­ stand the seriousness of the adoption and foster care legislation. It’s the first step to removing us from access to children.” Republican state Reps. Warren Chisum and Robert Talton filed the bills to ban the place­ ment of children into gay or lesbian households. According to the Jan. 2 issue of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Chisum said such house­ holds provide an improper atmosphere for rais­ ing children. “It is not conducive to Judeo-Christian beliefs and it can be destructive for the chil­ dren,” he said, adding that heterosexual couples offer the most solid home and best lifestyle. Critics, however, balked at that assertion. “People who support proposals like this say they are pro-family, but what more anti-family thing can you do than to say to children in fos­ ter care that we are going to deny you the oppor­ tunity to be raised by loving parents who could give you a good home and leave you in institu­ tional care instead?” asked Matt Coles, director of the lesbian and gay rights project at the American Civil Liberties Union. S “This Iboard] is appointed by the Southern Baptist governor,” Sklar says. “It just seems to be created to do this sort of thing.” This past fall, Sklar provided the board with dozens of documents that support the ACLU’s position in opposition to the ban. Those materi­ als included documents from the American Psy­ chological Association and reports from experts whose findings are in opposition to the sources Woodruff cited. Many organizations— including the APA, the Child Welfare League and the North Amer­ ican Council on Adoptable Children—oppose the use of sexual orientation as a criterion in fos­ ter care and adoption placement. The ban still has two hurdles to clear before becoming a regulation, but Sklar says she “couldn’t imagine it getting much opposition” in Arkansas. T he P arent F lap Some state authorities decide life with gay folks is not in children's best interest by Gip Plaster "People who support proposals like this say they are pro-family, but what more anti­ family thing can you do than to say to children in foster care that we are going to ...leave you in institutional care instead?" the New Hampshire Legis­ I bians n lature the from late passed both 1980s, a law banning gay men and les­ adopting and serving as foster — Matt Coles, director o f the lesbian and gay rights project o f the American Civil Liberties Union “We feel like the board overlooked the evi­ dence and voted in an unfair way against gays and lesbians as foster parents,” says Bryan Good­ man, a spokesperson for the Interfaith Coalition for Equality, a group of gay and straight people who support equal rights and oppose the ban. “We would have liked to have been heard.” But Robin Woodruff, the board member who introduced the resolution last June, says there had been plenty of time for public comment. She believes there are good reasons why gay men and lesbians don’t make good foster par­ ents. She emphasizes the importance of “a mom role model and a dad role model,” and notes that sodomy is illegal in Arkansas. Woodruff also says there is no evidence of n Arkansas, meanwhile, the Child Welfare Review Board voted 6-1, with one abstention, “positive long-term effects of homosexual par­ to bar gay people from becoming foster parents. enting.” In addition, she maintains gay people Some ban opponents expressed concern that have more sexual partners than heterosexuals their opinions were not heard before the jan. 6 and are more susceptible to diseases, including HIV and AIDS, gonorrhea, anal carcinoma and vote. I “a rare group of intestinal diseases [that] have been grouped together under the title ‘gay bowel syndrome.’ ” The board must now hold additional hear­ ings. After another vote, it can then send its proposal to the Arkansas Legislative Council, which can hold another hearing if the public requests it. The process will likely take several weeks. If it passes, the prohibition will become an agency regulation but can be overridden via statute. Arkansas state Rep. Jim Lendell, who is con­ sidered gay friendly, says if asked he would con­ sider introducing a bill to counteract the mea­ sure. Even so, Lendell says the bill would likely flop. Rita Sklar, executive director of the Ameri­ can Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, says her organization will sue if the regulation gets the stamp of approval. parents. This year, the state’s lawmakers will consider whether to repeal the law. Florida banned gay men and lesbians from adopting in 1977. In Oklahoma, people con­ victed under the state’s sodomy law cannot adopt. Last year, bills that would have prevented queer people from serving as foster parents, adopting or both were defeated in Arizona, Cal­ ifornia, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Georgia. Similar measures will likely be introduced this year in Indiana and Michigan. The Utah Division of Child and Family Ser­ vices has drafted a policy aimed at having the same effect in that state. After the Arkansas vote, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force denounced the board’s actions and pledged to stop that measure and similar proposals elsewhere. “This ban is not about the welfare of chil­ dren, it’s about attacking and demonizing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgcndered people,” says Kerry Lobel, the executive director of NGLTF. “We will face similar battles in a num­ ber of states this year, and we will do everything in our power to face down these lies, distortions and myths with the simple truth." PALM sp&incs Serving your real estate needs for... ( r \ r_C C&flY 760 833-5434 ( CONDOS • V acation H omes H otel P roperties A partment B ldgs . ) 92264 Now, let’s work on relocating you. fry «tí*