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You are here: MacNN Forums > Community > MacNN Lounge > Political/War Lounge > Texas House passes bill to bar gay and bisexual foster parents

Texas House passes bill to bar gay and bisexual foster parents
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UNTeMac
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Apr 21, 2005, 11:26 AM
 
Here.

Texas could become the only state to bar gays from becoming foster parents under legislation passed Wednesday by the House.

The ban is part of a bill to revamp the state's Child Protective Services agency. It passed 135-6 with two abstentions and now heads to the Senate.

"It is our responsibility to make sure that we protect our most vulnerable children, and I don't think we are doing that if we allow a foster parent that is homosexual or bisexual," said Republican Rep. Robert Talton, who introduced the amendment.

If the bill becomes law, Texas would be the only state to prohibit homosexuals and bisexuals from becoming foster parents, according to the American Civil Liberties Union Lesbian and Gay Rights project.

Arkansas had barred gays from becoming foster parents, but a judge said the law was unconstitutional in December.

Under the Texas bill, anyone who applies to be a foster parent or a foster parent whose performance is being evaluated must say whether he or she is homosexual or bisexual. Anyone who answers yes would be barred from serving as a foster parent. If the person is already a foster parent, the child would be removed from the home.
I think this will get struck down unless the state can provide a legally tangible reason for preventing gay and bisexual parents from adopting children. My state already doesn't have enough parents to do the job so what purpose could this possibly serve?
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Mithras
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Apr 21, 2005, 11:31 AM
 
Oh dear. So sad. Why don't they evaluate on criteria that actually matter, rather than this?
     
BoomStick
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Apr 21, 2005, 11:32 AM
 
To keep them from confusing the child perhaps?
     
UNTeMac  (op)
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Apr 21, 2005, 11:35 AM
 
Originally Posted by BoomStick
To keep them from confusing the child perhaps?
Children are smarter than you think. A simple explanation is all that's needed. Children do well with change because they often don't have a choice in the matter. Let them accept that some people are different and move on with more important things.
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BoomStick
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Apr 21, 2005, 11:50 AM
 
How many you got?
     
dcmacdaddy
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Apr 21, 2005, 12:19 PM
 
Originally Posted by UNTiMac
Children are smarter than you think. A simple explanation is all that's needed. Children do well with change because they often don't have a choice in the matter. Let them accept that some people are different and move on with more important things.
Yes, children do well with change. It's the adults that don't do so well.

BoomStick, you have kids. How do you plan to explain the concept of homosexuality to your kids when it comes up? What will you say to them as an explanation? Or are you just not going to say anything to avoid confusion? Because what exactly do you think a child will become confused about? I woud like to know.
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Wiskedjak
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Apr 21, 2005, 12:21 PM
 
Originally Posted by BoomStick
How many you got?
I've got two, and my oldest (3yrs) is quite good at understanding different relationships. Her cousin has a single father and she has a friend who lives in a foster home. She understands that different kinds of families. I doubt she would be very confused by a samesex family, or even if she had same sex parents.

In fact, I would argue that children are more adept at understanding such concepts as samesex families than adults; they are certainly more accepting of such differences than some adults are.
     
BoomStick
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Apr 21, 2005, 12:39 PM
 
Mine is 12 and is repulsed by the idea of same sex couples even though I have never taught him that way.
     
Secret__Police
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Apr 21, 2005, 01:00 PM
 
Originally Posted by BoomStick
Mine is 12 and is repulsed by the idea of same sex couples even though I have never taught him that way.
Very natural for a 12 year old, he probably fears getting Cooties from girls too.
     
BoomStick
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Apr 21, 2005, 01:09 PM
 
He likes girls.
     
pooka
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Apr 21, 2005, 01:19 PM
 
I was likin the girls quite a bit when I was 12.

I was taught Spanish in the 2nd/3rd grade and French in the 4th. We also touched on the "Current Events" going on in Afghanistan as well as some Russian history. I'm pretty sure my mind was capable of dealing with the concept of same sex relationships.

Now that I think about it.. I was pretty into machinery/mechanics back then. I probably would have been quite curious about the whole concept of man on man. I could have seen me asking my teachers questions about friction, elasticity, etc.

But I still don't really get girl on girl. Don't get me wrong, I'd pay to see it.. again, but I think it has more to do with being repulsed by men than being attracted to the same sex. Just a theory.

And no offense meant to anyone by this post.

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Mithras
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Apr 21, 2005, 01:26 PM
 
I wonder if they will also pass a law prohibiting heterosexual people from being foster parents to homosexual children.
You know, so the kids don't get confused.
     
Mithras
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Apr 21, 2005, 01:27 PM
 
Or white parents from being foster parents black kids. Or females from being foster parents to white kids.
Or Catholic parents from being foster parents to Methodist kids.
You know, so the kids don't get confused.
     
Mithras
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Apr 21, 2005, 01:28 PM
 
d-p
     
Mithras
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Apr 21, 2005, 01:29 PM
 
Originally Posted by BoomStick
Mine is 12 and is repulsed by the idea of same sex couples even though I have never taught him that way.
Congratulations! May bigotry pass on unsullied for generations.
How does he feel about people in wheelchairs?
     
von Wrangell
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Apr 21, 2005, 01:33 PM
 
Originally Posted by BoomStick
Mine is 12 and is repulsed by the idea of same sex couples even though I have never taught him that way.
Don't worry. He'll grow up in the next few years.


(hopefully)

To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged;- and verily, Allah is most powerful for their aid
     
UNTeMac  (op)
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Apr 21, 2005, 01:34 PM
 
Originally Posted by BoomStick
How many you got?
None yet but my work toward an education degree thus far has supported what others have said. Children are more suited to change than adults.

The fact that your 12 year old is repulsed by homosexuals says a lot about what his environment has done for his opinions. I'm not criticizing his upbringing, I'm simply saying that your opinions as a father have (intentionally or not) affected the way he views the world. I was repulsed by homosexuals when I was twelve but that was because my friends were too. Being repulsed by something implies deep dislike or hate. I think we'd agree that the less of that we have, the better.

One major point that needs to be addressed is the crisis Texas has in getting parents for abandoned children. How does paring down the list of allowable candidates help?
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BoomStick
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Apr 21, 2005, 01:52 PM
 
Originally Posted by Mithras
Congratulations! May bigotry pass on unsullied for generations.
How does he feel about people in wheelchairs?

I really hope so.

He has a disabled friend. I don't know if he's gay or not though, never aksed because he's like 12.

Are you into 12 year old boys perhaps?
     
OldManMac
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Apr 21, 2005, 03:22 PM
 
Sadly, this is not surprising news, coming from Texas, where they think they're still cowboys.
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SVass
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Apr 21, 2005, 03:56 PM
 
Originally Posted by KarlG
Sadly, this is not surprising news, coming from Texas, where they think they're still cowboys.
Remember that it was a Texas law criminalizing sodomy that was struck down by the Supreme Court and it was a Texas lawyer (our current AG) who said that to torture "illegal" combatants is ok and it is a former Texas governor who wants to appoint a Texas Supreme Court judge who twists the English language to other than its plain meaning to a Federal judgeship. "I'll get Bin-Laden, dead or alive." sam
     
OldManMac
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Apr 21, 2005, 05:25 PM
 
Actually, it was a Georgia law on sodomy that was overturned by the Supreme Court.

I believe it was Hardwick vs. Bowers, IIRC.
Why is there always money for war, but none for education?
     
SVass
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Apr 21, 2005, 05:45 PM
 
http://www.sodomylaws.org/lawrence/lawrence.htm

Lawrence & Garner v. State of Texas
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that sodomy laws are unconstitutional on June 26, 2003.

sam
     
OldManMac
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Apr 21, 2005, 06:10 PM
 
I stand corrected, or in this case, I sit down corrected.
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zigzag
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Apr 21, 2005, 06:49 PM
 
Originally Posted by pooka
I was likin the girls quite a bit when I was 12.

I was taught Spanish in the 2nd/3rd grade and French in the 4th.
Impressive. I didn't learn French or Spanish until I was about 18, and I had to buy the girl an expensive dinner. Sad.
     
James L
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Apr 22, 2005, 01:52 AM
 
Originally Posted by Mithras
Or white parents from being foster parents black kids. Or females from being foster parents to white kids.
Or Catholic parents from being foster parents to Methodist kids.
You know, so the kids don't get confused.
Bingo...

This attempt at law making is pathetic... hopefully the next generation in Texas won't be as ignorant.
     
Spliffdaddy
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Apr 24, 2005, 05:29 PM
 
I'm still waiting for the right of single people to adopt or become foster parents.

gays can take a number and wait - just like I have.
     
James L
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Apr 24, 2005, 07:57 PM
 
Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy
I'm still waiting for the right of single people to adopt or become foster parents.

gays can take a number and wait - just like I have.

Being serious here for a minute... single people really can't adopt where you live? In Canada there is no legislation preventing single people, gays, etc from adopting. I am sure some birth mothers and agencies prefer the baby go to a traditional household, but there are no legal barriers at all that I can find.

That's crappy.


     
stupendousman
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Apr 25, 2005, 08:08 AM
 
Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy
I'm still waiting for the right of single people to adopt or become foster parents.

gays can take a number and wait - just like I have.
+1

Personally, I don't have a problem with single people, or gay people becoming foster parents - IF you can't find a loving man and women who wants the child first. While it isn't 100% necessary for a child's development to have both a mother and father, it is beneficial to have strong parental role models of both sexes raise the child since heterosexuality and male/female cohabitation is the overwhelming norm for all be a tiny portion of the population. I guess if you can REALLY prove that a child is gay, then you might have an exception to the rule...but we're likely talking usually about a pre-prubescent child knowing for certain their sexual orientation, which is possible but not statistically signficant in order to determine policy on such an issue. They'd still benefit from the example of a loving man and women and be able to better understand the differences between the sexes and how they deal with life situations differently.

Of course, people don't want to do what makes sense when it hurts their political position...or feelings.
     
   
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