If you haven’t seen the interview (or heard the soundbites) from yesterday’s New York Times interview with Sen. John McCain, then you’re in for a treat. The “moderate” Republican Senator offered this gem when asked about his position on gay and lesbians adopting children. Courtesy of NY Times.
Q: President Bush believes that gay couples should not be permitted to adopt children. Do you agree with that?
Sen. McCain: I think that we’ve proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no I don’t believe in gay adoption.
Q: Even if the alternative is the kid staying in an orphanage, or not having parents.
Sen. McCain: I encourage adoption and I encourage the opportunities for people to adopt children and I encourage the process being less complicated so they can adopt as quickly as possible. And Cindy and I are proud of being adoptive parents.
Q: But your concern would be that the couple be a traditional couple?
Sen. McCain: Yes.
Alright Log Cabin Republicans, endorse this! If you currently venture to the Log Cabin Republican website, you’ll find them talking about how McCain’s current social security plan would provide fairness for LBGT families. I’m wondering, after hearing these words, what types of protection and fairness they’re expecting from their party leader. Don’t get me wrong, I understand fully that the Democrats (Obama and Clinton included) could be stronger in their convictions with regards to gay rights. Unfortunately many politicians have to walk the line publically, especially in election years. And it sucks. However, I’m inviting anyone who is for gay rights to defend this position. Anyone?
What saddens me most is that people just don’t get it. I was a caseworker for children in foster care in the state of Michigan for some time. I advocated for the best possible placements we had to offer these children. When you’re talking a matter of permanency and it’s not safe to return to the care of their parents or family, there are very few options. For children over the age of 5, it is often hard to find prospective adoptive parents. The honest truth is that many adoptive parents want white babies under the age of 2. So to deny a child the opportunity to escape the system that we have built for it, just because the adoptive parents are a gay couple, is unfair and unjust.
This is the real John McCain folks. He is no different than any other Republican wacko who thinks that my relationship and my ability to raise children will somehow threaten “the family.” The irony in all of this is that John McCain is an adoptive parent himself. I wonder if Cindy and he had the choice between leaving Bridget in the Bangladesh orphanage they saved her from or having her adopted by gay parents, what they would choose. A smart reporter would have asked that question.
Filed under: Gay Rights, politics | Tagged: Gay Rights, politics, John McCain, Gay Adoption, children
Well-said, Teddy. McCain is proving himself to be a greater hypocrite than the Kerry the Republicans painted in 2004. It seems that he is more and more often showing his age in his responses. I just wish these were picked up on and brought to the forefront more often.
It frightens me to think that if McCain had been at the helm of my sons adoption proceedings, he would have been processed and bounced from one foster home after another. Better that then let a gay parent(s) care for him, right McCain? I am not saying that gay adoption is easy as 1-2-3 currently. Quite the contrary. It just sickens me to think that some people would much rather see a child being thrown about homes until the age of 18. I refused to let that happen to my son.
“Both parents are important in the success of a family”… true, but parents are parents regardless of their gender.
Moderate? Ha. Thank you for pointing out McCain’s stance on adoption being an adoptive parent himself… leave a child in a Bangladeshi orphanage instead of parents? oh my…