Adoption ban proposal irks some students, makes sense to others

By: James Baker

Posted: 10/27/08

An unmarried couple that is otherwise qualified to adopt or foster a child will be unable to do so if Arkansas Proposed Initiative Act No. 1 is passed Nov. 4.

Spearheaded by the Arkansas Family Council, some think the initiative stands to further the strain on the state's adoption services, which currently has, on any given day, 3,700 foster kids in the system and 1,100 foster homes available.

Nearly 53 percent of respondents in the Arkansas Poll approved of the measure, while 42 percent opposed the measure.

Student opinion also is varied when it comes to the ballot measure.

Senior Chad Golston is one of many students who doesn't think favorably of the initiative.

"There's too many kids without a home for us to restrict who can be parents," senior Chad Golston said.

Senior Sammy Chung also said he thinks the proposed iniative is ridiculous.

"Look at Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt," he said. "They aren't married and they've provided for all their adopted kids."

The proposal doesn't make much sense, Chung said.

Technically, although the two superstars have a net worth in the hundreds of millions and have been considered qualified to adopt children from all corners of the world, they would be unable to adopt or foster a child in the state of Arkansas if the measure is passed because their living situation would be unacceptable.

"I think as long as they love and care for them, we should try to get the kids into a better home," junior Precious Temple said.

Other students, however, think the measure is well-reasoned.

"I think that if you're going to make the commitment to bring a child into your home, you should have already made the commitment to be married to one another," UA senior Seth Sherrill said.

What started the initiative was a seven-year legal battle between the state and the ACLU over agency bans on same-sex adoption.

The result was a 2007 push by the Family Council to ban same-sex adoption, but it never made it in the legislature because Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe said there were constitutional problems with the bill.

The current initiative would stop both heterosexual and homosexual cohabitating unmarried couples from being foster or adoptive parents.

U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor has said that while he is still deciding on his stance, he was leaning against the proposal.

The initiative also has opponents ranging from the Arkansas Families First coalition to the American Civil Liberties Union, in which the former has vigorously campaigned against the measure throughout the election year, though approval of the ballot proposal remains high.

"It's obviously a ploy to keep gay couples from getting children," senior Gracie Lambright said.

But Sherrill said he thinks the measure might weed out parents who wouldn't be committed to their adopted children.

"That child you adopt should have the stability of a complete family in his or her life," he said. "If two people are not willing to be bonded by marriage, then that relationship is not serious enough for them to adopt a child."