Gay couple

Mercury News 12/17/03: A gay San Jose couple Tuesday sued the nation’s leading adoption-related Internet business, contending that it must abide by California anti-discrimination laws and stop barring same-sex couples from posting personal ads seeking birth mothers looking for prospective adoptive parents.

For Rich and Michael Butler, whose commitment to parenthood is so strong they have already turned a bedroom int o a powder-blue nursey with puffy white clouds and taken the same last name, the case against Adoption.com has turned into a crusade on behalf of all same-sex couples....[I]n a letter last year to the National Center for Lesbian Rights, an advocacy group representing the Butlers, Adoption.com attorney and principal Dale Gwilliam said the firm refused to list the Butlers’ profile because scientific research has shown children thrive best in a traditional two-parent household....The rejection saddened the Butlers, who have known they would want to eventually raise children since they met nine years ago at a San Mateo roller rink. Their personal web site, www.butlerfamily site.com, paints a picture of the Bay Area natives surrounded by friends and family, including a 2-year-old nephew. Rich, 31, is patent attorney and Michael, 37, is a former information services executive who plans to be a stay-at-home dad.

The state certified the couple more than a year ago to adopt a child under 6 months old after they passed the necessary hurdles, including a home study and psychological testing. The Butlers want what is called an “open adoption,” meaning they want their child to remain in contact with the birth mother, at least to some extent....”We’re really open people and family-oriented, and we thought it was a neat idea to include more people in our family.”

An increasing majority of adoption agencies now accept applications from same-sex couples, according to a study by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, a New York-based think tank....By the time the lawsuit is concluded, they hope to have already found little Emily, Nathan, Melissa, or Aiden to adopt. “It’s about giving children the right to be in happy, well-adjusted homes,” Michael Butler said, “no matter what orientation the couple has.”

TBC: More than one study in recent years has shown that the most well-adjusted children are those in traditional households. As the family was designed by our Creator, it is therefore not surprising that the Scriptures have much to say about husband/wife/parents/children relationships and not one word about “gay” families. Finally, as it has been repeatedly shown that more adoptive couples exist than available children, “giving children the right to be in happy, well-adjusted homes” is not an issue.