Being homosexual is not a mental disorder and so homosexuals are not deprived individuals. Homosexuals are considered to be fully functioning members of society. They complete the same everyday tasks that a heterosexual would do; they go to school, go to work, pay their taxes, hang out with their friends, etc. Now to be a parent homosexuals would have the ability to raise children. There is no distinct qualification to becoming a parent; however, there are some characteristics that a good parent should posses, such as: Responsibility; Love; Trustworthy; Reliable; Stable (both financially and mentally); etc., none of which are exclusive to heterosexuals. Whom a person sleeps with is a personal decision and this should have no impression on a homosexuals ability and qualifications to raise children.Parenting is not just limited to be between a child's biological mother and father. Statistics show that 1/3 children in America are not raised in two-parent households and that 33% of gay male couples and 23% of lesbian couple have at least one child under the age of 18 living in their home. These statistics tell us that the norms of society and changing and unlike before when everyone lived with their biological mother and father, now, there are many children that are being raised by single parents or non-biological parents. It is also proven that children who live with same sex parents do equally well in school as children who live with heterosexual parents. Some say that children living with same sex parents may even do better in school than children living with heterosexual parents.
Many people believe that children living with homosexual parents is just harmful to the children and that the children will grow up to be either psychologically or sociologically different than children living with heterosexual parents. What people don't take into consideration is the fact that the children living with their non-biological parents have a shot at a normal and a better life than they had before when they were living at the orphanage. Living with two dads or two moms is better for a child than having him/her spend their life without the support, love and guidance of a father or mother figure.
There are currently 16.2 million orphans in the world today (these are children who have lost both their biological mother and father). These children should deserve to have the opportunity to grow up in a warm and healthy environment where they can educate themselves and succeed in life. The only way children will not become orphans is if someone adopts them and in today's society, the only individuals that adopt children are homosexuals and heterosexuals who cannot have children. If we were to prevent homosexuals from adopting orphaned children, then there would be way more the 16.2 million children without a home. Gay tax payers, law abiding citizens, everyday ordinary people; homosexuals have every right to adopt children the same way heterosexual parents enjoy the right to have children. There is nothing that heterosexual parents can offer that homosexual parents cannot, except maybe for a 'traditional family', but honestly, the number of traditional families have been decreasing over the years. However, it is not stated anywhere that a traditional family is necessarily better and in some cases, it's not.
There is also the matter of; a father not being able to provide the certain qualities that a mother has and vise-versa. Both males and females are capable of love and responsibility. Furthermore, a male can be extremely effeminate and a women can be very masculine. While it is traditionally the father who teaches their son how to play baseball, it is no way limited to the male gender; females can teach their kids the very same thing. Similarly, a gay man might even be more willing to go girly things with their child, such as cooking and shopping, in order to make sure that the child does not feel the emptiness if a mother figure.
We shouldn't judge whether or not homosexuals are going to be good parents because heterosexuals aren't perfect parents either and should be in no position to point fingers. People say things like homosexual parents are not going to be good parents because they're homosexual and because they will not be able to provide everything a child needs. Well, what about teenage parents? What about addicts who have children? Or prostitutes who have children? How can we judge homosexuals about not being good parents when we have heard of many cases where children commit suicide, run away, commit a crime, do drugs etc., because their biological parents had not always been there for them when they needed them. There are a lot more cases where heterosexual parents cannot take care of their kids and cannot be a good and responsible parent when compared to homosexual parents. So instead of falling into the false impression that homosexual parents are horrible parents, we should take a moment and think about all of the stories we heard and seen on the news about how some people have been bad parents and could not give their biological child everything they deserved. I'm not stating that homosexual parents are the best parents anyone could ever had, I'm just saying that it's hard to be a parent and if someone is willing to take on that responsibility, then they must posses some good parenting quality in order to take in a child.
Citations:
Health News. (n.d.). Study: Same-Sex Parents Raise Well-Adjusted Kids. WebMD - Better information. Better health.. Retrieved October 26, 2012, from http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20051012/study-same-sex-parents-raise-well-adjusted-kids
Crary, D. (n.d.). Gay Parenting Does Affect Children Differently, Study Finds -- Authors Believe Gay Parents Have "Some Advantages". NARTH . Retrieved October 26, 2012, from http://www.narth.com/docs/does.html
Blake, J. (n.d.). 'Gayby boom': Children of gay couples speak out - CNN.com.CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Retrieved October 26, 2012, from
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/06/28/gayby/index.html
No comments:
Post a Comment