Gay Parenting Few Issues Have

Gay Parenting Few issues have been as contentious when it comes to child rearing and civil rights in the modern age than the issue of homosexual couples -- whether lesbian women or gay men -- raising children. From politicians to activists to scientists, people on both sides of the issue have clamored for attention to an abundance of what they call evidence, some of which is fairly reliable and much of which is far less so.

Whether a child is raised by a heterosexual or a homosexual couple is believed by many to be extremely influential from a familial, psychological, emotional and social perspective, both for the child him- or herself and for those around her or him. In the following paragraphs, current research exploring the issue of same-sex couples raising children will be explored form a variety of different research and ideological perspectives, yielding much relevant information on the circumstances and arguments central to the current debate on this very pressing and meaningful issue.

In an attempt at providing an overview of the perspectives and rhetoric that have permeated research into this area, Clarke examines the terminology and the objectivity observed on both sides of the issue. (Clarke, 2000, p.

152-9)This researcher finds that due to the emotional nature of the issue it is very hard to discern real scientific observations from statements that have been twisted by subjective beliefs, and more so that it is very difficult to get anyone who feels strongly one way or the other to apply true measures of objectivity to their thinking and their own observations on the subject.

Rather than examining the rhetoric or even the advisability of same-sex couples raising children, this researcher simply works with the fact that such family units exists, and examines the implications this has for children, families, and societies. A noted reluctance to accept such families is observed and reported, as are certain affects on children raised by same-sex couples as opposed to heterosexual couples (Wilde, K. (2000).

The results of this research are not especially conclusive, and the research angle is primarily geared towards the practice of midwifery making for limited application of the findings that were achieved in the study. This researcher acknowledges that there have been clearly observed stigmas attached to same-sex couples generally and specifically in regards to their being parents, and asserts that this necessarily leads to psychological effects for same-sex couples/parents.

This research attempts to define and examine those effects from the perspective of a mental health nurse, in order for other mental health nurses and relevant parties to more adequately and comprehensively understand the issues that same-sex parents face. (Weber, S, 2008, P. 125 ) The author concludes that there are several specific practices and methods that can be utilized to more effectively meet the specific needs and challenges of same-ex parents.

Without actually examining the issue of discrimination as it happens, this researcher studied the way a small group of lesbian mothers felt about discrimination and the steps they took to prepare their children for discrimination in early childhood education settings. In a study involving twelve lesbian mothers, the researcher found that all felt the world was strongly heteronormative and that thus their children had to be protected against/prepared for discrimination due to the same-sex status of their two parents. (Lee, D. 2010, P.

16-23) The author concludes that legislation affirming the equal status of such couples in New Zealand has not strongly impacted opinions within the gay and lesbian community. However, in the previous era there have been a lot of lesbians and gay men starting families on their own. A lot of this is done through adoption, foster care, artificial insemination, and other ways. Today, researchers have assessed that the amount of kids that are living with at least one gay or lesbian parent is five to thirteen million.

A lot of people look at this period as the "gay baby boom." Nevertheless, gay parents and lesbian face obstacles that are both social and legal. (Lambda Legal Defense and Educational Fund, 1997). Some time ago, most gay and lesbian parents lived private and defensive lives. Not only did gay parents have to deal with the coming out of the closet issues and parting from significant other, but also deal with let their children know that they are out as well.

The researcher has discovered that since more lesbians are coming out more and more and families that are gay are choosing to have children, they are also feeling more out of the closet than they already are.

"This means that they are popping up in fertility clinics for material about trying pregnancy, they are rushing into adoption places and being very adamant about the character of their family, they getting information from their lawyers second parent same-sex adoption, and they are going to PTA meetings and little league activities with the same eagerness as other parents" (Lev, 2002 p.2). A lot the kids parented by lesbians and gay men were born to them when they were in a heterosexual association or matrimony.

Frequently, once the child's non-gay parent finds out the sexual nature of the other parent, they might endeavor to restrict their duties as a parent. There have been many other obstacles that have been driven by other family members or management agencies, consequently producing bigotry concerning gay and lesbian parents and refuting custody and rights to visit (Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, 1997-2002). From state to state, the child custody and visitation legal standards vary. For instance, twenty-one states have given second-parent adoptions to gay couples and lesbians.

This gives the child to have fair chance of having two parents that are legal, particularly if one dies. Nowadays, most of the states do not even turn away from gay adoption or visitation originated on sexual character. Currently, courts put on the notion "best interest of the child," when it comes down to making decisions concerning cases like this. Therefore, one's sexual nature is not the foundation for refuting or regulating parent-child relations, in a lot of states (Mallon, G.P. 1997 P. 13-24).

Even though situations are progressing forward, the researcher had discovered that one's sexual preferences may have disadvantages. Some states still caught up in myths and typecasts, will use a person's sexual focus to reject custody, adoption, visitation and foster care. For instance, New Hampshire and Florida have regulations that do not allow lesbian and gay men from adopting children. Certain situations have illustrated how one's sexual desire is utilized to their drawback, like in the Sharon Bottom's case.

"In a notorious 1993 result, a Virginia Court snatched away Sharon Bottom's baby son just because of her sexual preference, and transported care to the granmother. Arkansas did adopt a policy threatening lesbians, gay men, and those who live with them, from assisting as foster parents" (American Civil Liberties Union, 1999, p.1). Subjects of parenting are not the only complications that gay and lesbian parents deal with. Others contain the right to a marriage that is legal, which helps them to have the rules and regulations as same sex couples.

The Netherlands on April 1, 2001 became the first to release rightful marriage to same-sex couples. These marriage authorizations are only given to its citizens and residents that are legal. The researcher has examined that there is no other country or state in the world that permits marriages of the same sex. Even though numerous churches marry couples of the same sex, marriages that are ceremonial offer no civil laws and transport no legal profits or liabilities.

Same-sex couples at one time were reflected to be lawful foreigners, therefore, Federal laws concerning marriage will not cover them but that however is changing. It still is uncertain when same-sex couples will be able to get a legal marriage license in every state. However, suits for legal marriages began in the United States in 1971 (Zanghellini, A. 2007. P 120-122). Research shows that the effects of the age at which children learn of parental homosexuality have also been a topic of study.

Epstein (2007) made a discovery that children who found out or told about a parent being gay found the news simpler to handle with than children that found out about it during early to middle adolescence. Mallon (1997) made a discovery that maternal lesbianism in childhood had higher self-confidence than children that were not told anything of it until they were teenagers.

From a clinical viewpoint, it is extensively settled that early adolescence is a mainly challenging time for a child to learn that either parent is practicing a homosexual lifestle (Mallon, D. 1997, P. 12-23). Particular researchers have brought up the issue concerning the potential function of peer support inaiding children to handle problems elevated by having a lesbian or gay parents. Epstein (2005) became the first to state children's stillness on the subject of parental sexual orientation with equals and family member may add to their sentiments of separation from other children.

Everyone of the 12 teenagers studied by Epstein R (2005) stated using choosiness about when they revealed news concerning their mothers' lesbian characteristics. Zanghellini (2007) discovered that 29% of his teeenage respondents had never met anyone else that lived a homosexual or had a bisexual parent, signifying that the option of loneliness is extremely genuine for teenagers. Possibly unconstructive results of any such separation have not, however, been exposed in examination to date (Epstein, R. (2005), P. 30-23).

People believed that children would benefit from encouragement groups entailing of other children of gay or lesbian parents, and teen agers.