A new bill has been
introduced in the Tennessee general assembly that would
prevent any unmarried couple -- gay or straight
-- from adopting children in the state.
"I think if you
poll a majority of Tennesseans and ask them, they can see that
two people who've not objectively, publicly stated a
commitment to their relationship put a child at risk of being
in an unstable home," said David Fowler, executive
director of the conservative Family Action Council of
Tennessee.
"This isn't
about quality of care. This isn't about the commitment of
the parents. This is about a very narrow agenda," Dr.
Marisa Richmond, president of the Tennessee Transgender
Political Coalition, told the
Chattonooga Times Free Press
.
Richmond cited the $6
million fiscal note attached to last year's version of the
proposed law, which she said was based on an estimated $20,000
cost for each of the roughly 300 children who would be kept in
state custody and denied a home because of the restriction.
"We were hoping
that, with the budget crisis, they wouldn't reintroduce
this bill," she said.
The senate bill, which
is sponsored by Republican senator Paul Stanley of
Memphis, has been referred to the Senate judiciary committee.
(Rhiza Dizon, Advocate.com)
