Proposal would
ban adoption by gays in Ohio

An effort to strip gays and lesbians in Ohio of adoption rights was launched Thursday by a Republican state representative. Ron Hood of Asheville introduced Bill 515, which would prohibit foster and adoptive children from being placed in the home of any gay, bisexual, or transgender person in the state.

Gay rights groups including the American Civil Liberties Union expressed outrage at the bill, which would affect the approximately 6,000 children in Ohio waiting to be adopted. "This bill is blatant discrimination in its worst form. It will only cause families to be ripped apart, children to be denied a loving home, and the social services systems in Ohio to be flooded with children who would have been otherwise placed in healthy environments," said ACLU of Ohio executive director Christine Link.

There is no justifiable reason to deny needy children loving homes, Link said. "Experts on adoption such as social workers, pediatricians, and psychologists from around the nation have agreed that there is no child welfare basis for banning gay adoption when it is in the best interest of the child," Link said. "Politicians legislating these types of social welfare cases will only result in harming innocent children around the state." (Advocate.com)