Letter: Adoption Proposal Invasion of Privacy
Express-News, January 11, 1999
Box 2171, San Antonio, TX 78297-2171
Email: letters@express-news.com
State Rep. Warren Chisum of Pampa proposes legislation that would prohibit homosexuals
from adopting or fostering children, even if the child is a blood relative.
Chisum does not want homosexuals to "influence" Texas children. Even though
the state Department of Human Services statistics show that more than 80 percent of child
abuse is inflicted by heterosexuals, he doesn't want homosexuals to have any contact with
children.
Do those statistics mean that heterosexuals should not adopt or foster children? Of
course not. It only means that sexual orientation has no bearing on parenting.
Surveys from the Child Welfare League of America and state and federal certified
teaching materials for psychologists show that the sexual orientation of the parent does
not determine the sexual orientation of the child.
Gays won't be the only victims of this law. If you're straight and want to adopt a
child, you must be "identified" as a heterosexual.
But wait. What about your family members? Are any of them gay? What about your
co-workers? Any gay people there?
What if the investigator perceives you as too gay-friendly? Could that prevent you from
adopting or fostering a child?
This proposed legislation is based on a sodomy law that was declared unconstitutional
in 1993. It will cost more than $8 million in the first year and does nothing to address
the 44,000 already abused and/or neglected children in this state.
Do fair-minded Texas (who are the majority) deserve hate legislation that invades their
privacy?
-- Alma Jean Jackson, Fort Hood
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