Swiss Politician Likens Gay Adoption to Legalizing Cocaine

Just because a number of gay people already parent children does not mean the law should be changed to facilitate adoption by couples, said a leading Swiss politician, who compared the issue to legalizing the popular drug cocaine.

According to English-language Swiss news source The Local, Christophe Darbellay, leader of the center-right Christian Democrats, made his comments last week in response to a vote in the legal committee of the Council of States, the upper house of parliament, to change the law to make it easier for same-sex couples to adopt. Currently, single gays and lesbians can adopt children, but same-sex couples cannot adopt, and neither can a same-sex partner adopt the other's biological child.

Speaking to Le Temps newspaper, Darbellay said the growing reality of adoption by same-sex couples hardly justified a legal modification, where after all, the fact that many people use cocaine was no reason to legalize the drug.

"I wouldn't suddenly legalize cocaine just because half a million people consume it," he said.

The Local reports that his comments have generated an uproar, with LGBT groups including the Association for Rainbow Families calling the remarks an "insulting" and ill-conceived comparison.

Darbellay, 40, defended his statement Monday. He told 20 Minuten, the German-language Swiss daily, "I simply wanted to say that just because something exists, does not mean that it has to be legalized."

Despite the nod from the Council of States, the proposal to allow same-sex couples to adopt could face an uphill climb in the National Council, the lower house that previously rejected a petition for equal adoption rights for gay and lesbian couples, according to The Local.