I spoke too soon…

I commented over at Evil Bobby that I wondered what Ohio Bush-bots would use to get the voters out this year. Obviously they can’t use gay marriage again. But I wondered too soon. Shortly after posting that I found this in the Akron Beacon Journal. Seems some of our God-fearing Republicans are trying to muddle the issues again. This time it’s banning adoptions by gays.

State Rep. Ron Hood, R-Ashville, sponsor of the bill, said he believes children raised by gay parents have an increased risk of physical and emotional problems and might question their sexuality.

“Studies have shown that the optimal setting to raise children is in a traditional setting with a mom and a dad,” Hood said.

Oh, sure, the title of the article is “Gay-adoption ban unlikely to pass”, but the plans are in motion. Why put honest issues on the ballot when the best way to get the fanatics out is to ask “Do you want gay people wanting to adopting, and thereby spoiling, hetero kids”? Isn’t it better to have them by heterosexual couples who like to collect them (and their welfare benefits) then cage them like animals? At least we wouldn’t have to worry about them opening any new gay bars in the neighborhood- that is, should they grow into adulthood with their mental health in tact.

Ohio has about 22,000 children in foster care. About 3,000 are available for adoption because their parents’ rights to them are severed, according to 2004 figures from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

These kids are already having a rough time, but the Republicans want to make it worse. If there are ten gay couples that want to adopt ten of these children and give them a good, loving home, why is that a bad thing? Because these kids are (potentially) heterosexual and would be tainted by the lifestyle of their adoptive parents. They don’t need love and security as much as they need a decent sexuality.

This newest ploy isn’t going unnoticed, however.

Critics say the bill would not only tear families apart but also increase the wait for children to get adopted.

“There is always a shortage of foster homes all over the country,” said Susan Truitt, legal projects coordinator for the National Center for Adoption Law and Policy at Capital University in Columbus. “To exclude an entire segment of the population from the opportunity to foster or adopt is a disservice to these children.”

Truitt said those behind the bill are trying to create a “wedge issue” for the November election.

“It’s the get-out-the-vote for the right-wing nuts,” she said.

Absolutely. They would sell their souls to get more votes. But according to supporters, Hood is simply looking out for the best interest of the children (that he wants to leave without a good home).

But Barry Sheets, a Columbus lobbyist for Citizens for Community Values, called the bill sound public policy. The Cincinnati-based group led the successful 2004 ballot initiative that amended the Ohio Constitution to ban gay marriage and civil unions.

“The state’s responsibility is to be guardians of these wards,” Sheets said. “He (Hood) wants to make sure that the state is taking very great care in looking at what’s in the best interest of the child first and foremost, and letting all other considerations become secondary.”

So, it’s better for these children to float from one home to the next, unsure of where they’ll be next, or if these foster-parents will be as kind as the next? It’s better for these children to be collected for the money their “parents” can get from welfare? It’s better for them to end up on the street, on drugs, in jail, on welfare, having children, and repeating the cycle some more?

These Republicans are claiming that they value God, family, and country. And yet they want to leave thousands of children homeless, with no certainty for the future. And then when these children grow up these same Republicans will scream because they are clogging the jails and the welfare rolls, cry about the crime rate. Blame someone else for not doing something to fix it. And their supporters will forget what they’ve done (through all of this) to cause the problems that they don’t want to fix. Don’t all children deserve parents that love and want them- regardless of their sexuality? Apparently not.

Teresa Robinson, 43, raises three daughters and two foster children in suburban Cincinnati with her partner, Kelly Robinson.

She said she felt under attack. “What are they thinking?” she said. “There are no studies whatsoever saying that a child benefits greater being in a gay home or a straight home.

“It’s like having someone put a KKK cross in your front yard. In someone’s opinion, you’re not right. The crazy thing is they’re the ones that have the hatred in their heart. They’re they ones that have the fear in their heart. I’m just raising kids and paying taxes.”

Amen, Sister. But I don’t think that it’s hate. It’s greed. They want the votes and the only way that people are going to support them is if they support something that the ignorant bigots fear.

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