Adoption Rights Quotes

You may not know it, but I was adopted as a baby by my wonderful parents, Allan and Margaret Atkins of Cumberland Gap, Tenn.

We have looked into the general problems with adoption in the United States, and we discovered - on the basis of the reports written by American NGOs - we discovered that not only Russians but kids from other countries and the American-born kids have been subject to very unfortunate behavior on the part of their adopted parents.

I believe there are too many children who need loving parents to deny one group of people adoption rights. A child will benefit from a healthy, loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.

I was adopted. I was born in Edinburgh, and adopted when I was about two weeks old. And it's a good thing, I think, really, that back then, in '75 when I was born, you were really given a lot more information than you're given now when you're adopted. And you know, you can access that information when you're older.

The process of open adoption is not discussed in the way it should be. Everyone I know who has adopted domestically has at least one tragic story. It was important to me to be able to describe those situations.

On gay adoption I have changed my mind.

Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil union.

What I'm finding is there's an awful lot about adoption and relinquishment and the complicated nature of family that we, as human beings, haven't been able to have a real discussion about yet without a lot of censorship.

I've never been keen on open adoption. It doesn't seem to solve the main problem with adoption, which is that somebody feels she was abandoned by someone else.

There's a lot of people in my family who've adopted children.

In an open adoption agreement, you agree to a minimum number of visits - a floor, not a ceiling. It's enforceable.

Conceit of the anti-gay law in Russia is to protect children, then the people who have the most to fear are LGBT parents. And sure enough, in conjunction with the homosexual propaganda law, they instituted a ban on adoptions by same-sex couples, or single people from countries where same-sex marriage is legal. That has very scary potential for any LGBT person with adopted kids, because Russian courts practice this particular legal concept called "annulment of adoption." So an adopted child is never exactly the same as a biological child, even if he or she was adopted ten years ago.

The last thing that should come between two willing parties, one that wants to adopt and one that wants to find a home, is economics.

Adoption is a global issue these days - it's certainly current - and it's encouraging for a lot of couples whether they're straight or gay.

Any home where there is love constitutes a family and all families should have the same legal rights, including the right to marry and have or adopt children. Why shouldn't gay people be able to live as open and freely as everybody else?

I think all gay guys should get married. I think they should have to get married. They should have to adopt kids because, actually, I'm getting tired of their happy-go-lucky lifestyle. I've had it with them being all happy and in shape. I could look good in denim short shorts and combat boots, too, if I had all day to do leg presses at the gym.

People ask me. 'What about gay adoptions? Interracial? Single Parent?' I say. "Hey fine, as long as it works for the child and the family is responsible." My big stand is this: Every child deserves a home and love. Period.

There is so much work to be done to treat gays and lesbians and gay and lesbian couples with the respect that they're entitled to. They deserve, in my judgment, partnership benefits. They deserve to be treated fairly when it comes to adoption and immigration.

No couples in Virginia can adopt other than a married couple - that's the right policy.

If you really care about children then why would you want to keep families from adopting them?

I'm also very pleased at the fact we're well on our way in Indiana to becoming the most pro-adoption state in America. I think if you're going to be pro-life, you should - you should be pro-adoption.

I'd adopt an older child, not a baby.

As an adopted kid, it means a lot when I hear women say, 'I don't want kids.' I have a lot of respect for them.

I'm also for gay marriage, because I say they have every right to be just as miserable as the rest of us. Love is bigger than government. And Texas, by the way, has a very progressive law about gay couples adopting kids. We just won't let them get married. So that's not common sense.

We can't take a step backwards when we've already made so many strides forward. I was raised by gay men and women...it's who I am, you cannot define a family. There are children out there who need these loving homes. These are rights that are fundamental and must be had. And I will fight for however long it takes; I don't want to live in a world where prop 8 exists!