Proposal Would Ban Gay Couples From Adoption

Single Mothers, Fathers Could Still Adopt

WSMV.com
April 8, 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A proposal that some opponents said would allow the state to know what's going on in a person's bedroom is under consideration in a Senate committee.

The bill would ban any couple living together in an unmarried sexual relationship from adopting children.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Paul Stanley, R-Memphis, said single mothers and fathers could still adopt under his plan.

"Our responsibility is to put these children in the best homes in the ideal environment. It's not always the perfect environment. The ideal environment is a married couple that are able to bring them up in a great home life. And, if they're not married, a lot of times there's just not the commitment to one another. Now, there's exceptions to that as there is a lot of things, but over the course a lot of relationships, that's definitely the case," he said.

Some said they feel that endorsing such a bill comes with heavy implications because it not only would be imposing someone else's moral standards on people, it could also cost the state a lot of money.

"It would be very expensive because there are a lot of good parents who would be disqualified from adoption and would place an extra burden on the state. It would take children that are currently in loving, family relationships and put them back into state custody. We think that’s ridiculous," said Marisa Richmond of the Tennessee Equality Project.

Stanley said he thinks he's got the support to get the bill out of committee.