Don't Confuse Arkansas Lawmakers with the Facts

In response to the recent Arkansas court decision that found that children of homosexual parents are as well-adusted as those of heterosexual partents, a bipartisan effort is underway to push a bill through the house that would prohibit homosexual people from being foster parents. The full story from the Northwest edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is here.

According to the article, one of the bill's co-sponsors, Senator Jim Holt, R-Springdale doesn't seem to think the amount and quality of evidence presented to Judge Tim Fox mattered. Instead, he waves it way (if he read it at all) and pulls out the specious "nature" argument.

Holt said in a telephone interview Friday that "nature" proves that gay foster parents cause "psychological, emotional and physical damage" to foster children. "Nature itself reveals that [homosexuality] is not natural, and that it is not the way it should be," Holt said, adding that he filed his bill "not out of anger, it is not out of hatred, it is just out of love."

Awww, that Jim. His love is so heart-warmingly apparent. Still, I wouldn't mind taking a look at his copy of "Mother Nature's Guide to Why Gay People Should not be Foster Parents." I haven't run across that one at Barnes and Nobles. Nor has anyone else or I suspect Judge Fox might have considered it as part of his opinion. In fact there is quite a bit of evidence, which Judge Fox did consider evidently, that proves otherwise.

Whenever you hear that "It ain't natural" argument thrown around, keep in mind that "natural" is defined as anything that occurs in nature, and I do. I know gay foster parents are a new idea for some, and when it comes to our children, we should most certainly be cautious. We should carefully evaluate people's parenting skills before making them caretakers. But honestly, gay parents have been fostering in Indiana for awhile. If the potential foster parents make it through the training courses, it works out just fine. Believe me, unless Arkansas has become a meaner place than Indiana recently, if it will work here, it will work there.