So I was sitting in Starbucks with one of my sorority sisters and we got on the topic of how shitty some women behave while pregnant. I’m not talking about hormones and stuff, I’m talking about the more serious problems like smoking or drinking while they know they’re pregnant. Naturally, since I have a one track mind, this got me thinking about the Florida Gay Adoption Ban. Can I just say wtf Florida?! A woman cannot be legally prosecuted if her child is born with fetal alcohol syndrome because alcohol is legal, but I can’t legally adopt a kid because I’m gay. Apparently my sexual identity makes me a more unfit mother then someone who’s too selfish to stop drinking for nine months. Children born with FAS have the risk of organ dysfunction, learning difficulties, and developmental delay1. A kid with two mothers or fathers has the horrible risk of being confused about their sexual identity, having low self esteem, or having emotional problems. Since that doesn’t happen to kids with straight parents.
Let’s take some facts for a minute. Research done at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston in 2005 found that children raised by same-sex parents did as well as children raised in a more ‘traditional’ family.2 The researchers at Tufts looked at 15 different studies done over the last couple of decades. These studies showed that kids with gay parents were as well adjusted and intelligent as other kids. So why does the state of Florida refuse to see that? Ken Connor, President of the Family Research Center, says that kids growing up with gay parents will be ‘deprived’ of a loving mom and dad.3 Let’s reflect on that for a moment. I think we can all agree that not every kid with a mom and a dad is loved. Some of them end up in the Florida Adoption system because of that. So why not give kids who are in the system and need a loving home to two people who want them and will care for them? Who cares if they’re gay. Somebody’s ability to parent is based on a lot of things, they’re sexual identity is not one of them.
Okay, you’ve heard me rant long enough so I’m going to wrap this up with a plea. If anything I’ve said here has made you think about this subject, and you’re fired up against this ban then do something about it. Go to your Florida Senator or representative’s website and shoot them an email. Tell them that we, the voting constituents of the state of Florida are taking time out of our lives to tell them that this is wrong. Nothing is going to change unless we stand up and make it. I’m insulted that according to Florida I’m an unfit mother, when an estimated 2040 kids are born in this state with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome a year.4 But hey, all is not lost. If we all take a few minutes to tell the government that we think this needs to be changed, we can change it. Here, I’ll even provide a spiffy link for you - [link] This is the link to contact the representative for our district here in Pensacola, Jeff Miller. So with that I’m done, or at least until I click on that link and write this all again for our lovely representative. Happy Writing!




Sources
1. [link] ‘Fetal Alcohol Syndrome’
2. [link] ‘Study: Same Sex Parents Raise Well-Adjusted Kids’
3. [link] ‘Adopting Premises’
4. [link] ‘Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorders’