ACLU challenges Arkansas adoption law

Charlie Butts and Jody Brown - OneNewsNow - 1/7/2009

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit to challenge a new Arkansas law that prevents unmarried couples who live together from being adoptive or foster parents. Act 1 -- approved by Arkansas voters in November -- limits adoptions to married couples, effectively barring singles, unmarried heterosexual partners, and homosexuals from adopting children. Jerry Cox of the Family Council Action Committee of Arkansas expected the lawsuit but believes the amendment is in the best interest of the children.

"Well, you don't have to be a rocket scientist or social scientist to know that the best place for a child to grow up is in a home with a married mother and father -- a stable home like that," he points out. "Anything that departs from that moves in the wrong direction. We all know that."

According to The Associated Press, nearly 30 adults are plaintiffs in the ACLU suit, including a grandmother who has cohabitated with her same-sex partner for nearly a decade and is the only relative willing and able to adopt her grandchild. The state of Arkansas now has control of the child's future. In another case, a woman who wants to be a foster or adoptive parent cannot because she is not married to the man with whom she has lived for five years. The ACLU argues that in such situations the new law denies many Arkansas children a "chance at the largest possible pool of potential foster and adoptive homes."

But Cox believes the lawsuit promotes the homosexual agenda at the expense of the children. "This measure is not about the rights of adults," he contends. "It's about the welfare of children and the rights of children to be brought up in a good, stable home."

The ACLU argues that the law discriminates against homosexuals who cannot legally marry in Arkansas. However, Cox says it affects heterosexuals and homosexuals equally. He adds that he is confident the lawsuit will fail and Act 1 will "remain on the books." The new law went into effect on January 1.

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