Arkansas has a pro-child agenda, not a "gay agenda"
Filed by: Nancy Polikoff
October 16, 2008 7:00 PM
Even as Arkansas voters get ready to decide whether the state will ban adoption and foster care by lesbians and gay men, the state's Department of Health and Human Services has lifted its ban on licensing unmarried couples -- gay and straight -- as foster parents. Even the governor has said that the shortage of foster homes means no one should be preempted from the start from applying.
Well to the Family Council or Arkansas this means the state has a "gay agenda." Really? Arkansas? I don't think so! The Family Council is associated with James Dobson's Focus on the Family, and they are the ones with an agenda -- an agenda to promote anti-gay ideology above the best interests of children.
Meanwhile, opposition to the ballot initiative banning fostering and adoption by anyone living with an unmarried partner got a boost when the only national organization of adults who lived in foster care as children came out in opposition to the ban. A group of retired Arkansas judges also oppose the ban; they want to be able to do what's best for children. Still, it's going to be hard to defeat the ban. If you know anyone in Arkansas, call them and tell them to vote NO on Initiated Act 1. Donate to Arkansas Families First. They need money and people to have a shot at defeating a ban that could be the beginning of copycat bans in other states in future elections.
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7 Comments
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Arkansas Families First or Family Council of Arkansas
Remind me again which one is on our side? With names like these who can tell??
Nick | October 16, 2008 6:20 PM
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Yeah--I know what you mean! Arkansas Families First is the one on OUR side. You figure it out pretty quickly on their websites...but you can see why ambiguous names -- like ambiguously titled ballot initiatives -- can really confuse people.
Nancy Polikoff | October 16, 2008 6:28 PM
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These ballot initiatives are democracy run amok.
Seriously, we should amend the US constitution to ban them all. Because I only see them being used for stupidity. In 2004, in Washington, there were several on there, and they were all bad ideas to benefit powerful people. They even had one to repeal the estate tax, and I heard that one was a perennial ballot initiative.
Alex Blaze | October 16, 2008 9:44 PM
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These ballot initiatives should be run on consensus.
Nick | October 17, 2008 1:01 AM
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I'd support that!
Alex Blaze | October 17, 2008 2:03 AM
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There are just so many crazy anti-gay ballot initiative going on this election. It's purely a tactic to motivate the conservative base and get them to vote in more important races, but the side effect is these measures end up passing and discrimination is made law.
What worries me is that I think they're beginning to run out of broad anti-gay initiatives, so they'll only get more intrusive on our rights. Come 2010 or 2012 are we going to see a ballot initiative in Arkansas (or elsewhere) to prevent gays and lesbians from being parents period (even if it's their biological kid)?
Scott Kaiser | October 16, 2008 11:34 PM
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You say tomato, I say tomato.
"pro-child agenda" and "gay agenda" - to the right wing it means one thing: they're not in charge of every damned decision they want to make based on their religion.
Bil Browning | October 17, 2008 8:36 AM
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