Nadia Wade –
The modern family is an ever-changing aspect of society. In the mid-1900s, most families followed the typical family structure and maintained families with at least 2 or more children. Oftentimes, the family life would be one of a husband who works and provides for the family financially and a wife who takes care of the domestic duties of the home. Fast forward to the present, and the modern-day family has no specific look or label that one could identify. There are people with two mothers or two fathers, or one mother and one father. There are so many different types of families that make up the typical modern-day family.
Since–Biologically–same-sex parents are unable to procreate on their own, many will turn to fertility specialists, and most commonly will utilize the adoption system to fulfill their dreams of having a child. There are roughly 594,000 same-sex couple households in the United States, only 115,000 have children. That being said, this percentage could be so low because these couples simply do not want children or the adoption process makes it harder for same-sex couples to adopt. This struggle may take place because some Americans believe that “children need both a mother and a father to raise them, but there are many others who believe that gender does not matter when parenting” (LifeLong Adoptions). So, there is a possibility that same-sex couples will experience some form of scrutiny or even difficulty in getting through the adoption process in many states. Tennessee is a state that currently lacks laws protecting these same-sex couples that may face discriminatory treatment or difficulty in the adoption process based on their sexual orientation.
This afternoon, I had the opportunity to listen in on the committee four senate meeting. Here I was able to listen in on Brithny Speraw’s Bill titled, “An Act to Ensure Equal Adoption Opportunities for LGBTQ+ Couples.” This delegate was inspired to focus on this topic because of her “personal experience with adoption and LGBTQ+ adoption in specific.” Her response was also inspired as a reaction to when Tennesee governor Bill Lee signed a piece of legislation that allows adoption agencies to deny or refuse to cooperate with same-sex couples. Speraw informed the committee that Tennessee should consider implementing certain laws to protect all LGBTQ+ adopters from experiencing discrimination during the adoption process. She even explained that there is a need for certain laws in place that make sure that same-sex couples must meet the same criteria as heterosexual couples.
Within Speraw’s bills, she expressed where her concerns that an act that offers greater protection for same-sex couples when working with adoption agencies is needed. She even went as far as explaining that fines should be in place for people who violate these laws. The specifics of the bill would be that state funding would be revoked and a $23,5000 fine would be given to the violators of this law. Speraw included that state funds would be relocated to other organizations if an organization decided to violate this law.
As the land of the free and the home of the brave, Americans are often very progressive– as we’ve shown in the evolution of the typical family– and could even be considered equal opportunists. Having a way to protect the opportunities of others would be available if Brihtany Speraw’s Bill was taken under careful consideration by the legislature. Though Ms. Speraws’s bill was one of the first bills I was able to listen in on at this conference, I look forward to hearing more interesting topics from all of the wonderfully diverse candidates that are attending the conference this year.
Learn more:
https://www.lifelongadoptions.com/lgbt-adoption/lgbt-adoption-statistics
Department of Public Information 