Marriage Equality Advances; LGBT Adoption -- Not So Much
Two Supreme Court rulings have advanced the cause of marriage equality, and 13 states plus the District of Columbia now allow same-sex marriage. But what about LGBT couples and individuals who want to adopt children?
According to Ellen Kahn, director of the Human Rights Campaign, that area too has opened up some, but much more needs to be done.
"If you call and say 'I'm a gay man. My partner and I are interested in adopting,' there are still places that will say 'No, thank you.'"
She said however that even in the most conservative states there are pathways to LGBT adoption, and work on expanding it continues in legislatures and courts. She said she senses a corner has been turned, and that as marriage equality spreads, adoption will correspondingly become easier.
Still, Kahn said, a lot of LGBT people and same-sex couples who want to adopt are afraid to take that first step.
"Because, you know, there is a fear that 'We're going to be scrutinized differently than other folks,' or that 'We're going to just be met with a no.'"
She said around 15 to 20 percent of her group's grants have gone to LGBT adopters, but she wishes more would apply.
