Adoption adaptation

Some days it's a shame this paper isn't a tabloid. If it were the New York Post or Britain's Sun, we could run a headline like: "State of Indiana Hates Kids, Gays" or "Indiana to Orphans: Drop Dead!" Would this be unfair? Yes, probably. But, then, so are the machinations undertaken by Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter and state Sen. Jeff Drozda (R-Westfield). And, besides, the editorial board gets mad when we see officials looking to hurt kids and families in order to score cheap political points.\nBut we're getting ahead of ourselves. The news is that Monday, Attorney General Carter referred a case to the State Supreme Court on whether two non-married people can file a joint adoption. See, after Kim Brennan and Becki Hamilton, a lesbian couple of 12 years, adopted the baby they've raised almost since birth, a Marion County trial judge overturned the decision. That judge, however, was overruled by an appellate court in a 2-1 split decision, letting them keep the baby. But the Attorney General -- recognizing that domestic-minded lesbians and their babies are a far greater threat to this state than, say, rampaging meth addicts -- decided to step in. Meanwhile, Sen. Drozda has come forward to say that he'll introduce a bill next year to block same-sex couples from adopting. Drozda, having made his name as a pro-life activist, is apparently less concerned about what happens to kids after they're born.\nNow, we're not advocating handing out babies willy-nilly. Here in the editorial board's hacienda, we'd struggle to keep an artificial plant alive. But these kids already have so many knocks against them, why should we prevent them from finding stable, sober, law-abiding, loving, two-parent families, same-sex or not? What, you want us to quote the science? Okay, here's the science: \nA 1995 report by The \nAmerican Psychological Association found that: "Not a single study has found children of gay or lesbian parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents. Indeed, the evidence to date suggests that home environments provided by gay and lesbian parents are as likely as those provided by heterosexual parents to support and enable children's \npsychosocial growth." \nIn 2002, a study from the American Academy of Pediatrics likewise found "that children who grow up with one or two gay and/or lesbian parents fare as well in emotional, cognitive, social, and sexual functioning as do children whose parents are heterosexual." \nAnd a 2006 report by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute announced that "Virtually every valid study reaches the same conclusion: The children of gays and lesbians adjust positively and their families function well. The limited research on gay/lesbian adoption points in the same direction."\nThe fact is that building happy, healthy families is always going to be a complex endeavor, especially here in the 21st century. Should the government force us into a "traditional" template as it sees best? Have you seen the state of the Kennedy's lately?