Behar to Ukraine: Let Elton Adopt

The View cohost Joy Behar, whose nightly news show debuts next week on the CNN offshoot HLN, is getting her feet wet with some opinion writing for the CNN website. Her first topic? The Ukrainian governments decision not to let Elton John and his partner adopt a kid because they are too old and not legally married.

Behar writes to Yuriy Pavlenko, Ukraine's family, youth, and sports minister: "Mr. Pavlenko, here are some tips about family, youth, and sports. Family doesn't mean a huddle of orphans sharing a few soiled mattresses, it's not youth if you die of AIDS before you reach kindergarten, and wrestling over dinner scraps is not a sport.

"But that could be Lev's fate now, because the Ukrainian government said Elton and his beau David Furnish are too old to adopt the boy. It sounds like the real reason is they're too gay."

John toured a Ukrainian orphanage during the summer while doing work with his AIDS foundation and almost immediately fell in love with a 14-month-old, HIV-positive boy named Lev.

He and Furnish petitioned the government to adopt the boy, but were told they couldn't because prospective parents are only allowed to be 45 years older than the adoptee and the Ukraine doesn't recognize gay unions as marriage.

Behar argues in her op-ed that there is significant evidence to suggest that there is no downside to gay adoption and that in addition to being a gay man, John is also a "renowned musician, a celebrated humanitarian, and has been knighted by the Queen of England. In fact, for some people he is the Queen of England."

Perhaps Behar's most cutting statement comes in reference to Ukrainian Orthodox Church spokesman Father Georgy Gulyaev.

"...Gulyaev called Elton John a sinner and said, 'thank God it's impossible under Ukrainian law for [him] to adopt a child.' Apparently in the Ukraine, God's No. 1 priority is preventing gay couples from giving sick kids a better life. God would never want something like that to happen."