The Ongoing Struggle for a Family “The most important thing in a family is
that all the people in it love each other.” This excerpt is from a children’s
book, written by Leslea Newman, Called “Heather Has Two Mommies.” This story is
intended to show kids that not everyone’s family is the same. Many reasons are
given to dispute gay and lesbian parenting but all founded on some of the
archaic beliefs that Hitler used to kill homosexuals during W.W.II, fear and
prejudice! Although having children and being parents seems like a basic human
right or choice, many people believe that the government should have the
authority to discriminate who can are cannot have children, regardless of their
parenting skills.
Some say that it is unnatural for gay and lesbians to have children because
they have to go to such extremes to have them (Oppos ..199). It is kind of
ironic because it has become mainstream for heterosexual couples that are
determined infertile to use artificial insemination, adoption, and even invitro-fertilization,
and when one of these procedures is successful the couple is said to have had a
miracle, while the gay or lesbian couple is said to be fanatical.
Lesbian couples may use sperm banks, or they may become coparents with a gay
couple that also wishes to have children. In these cases the child has 4 loving
and nurturing parents instead of the standard 2. Noom 2 Another opposing view is
that all gays and lesbians are sexually promiscuous, therefore have HIV/AIDS,
and their relationships are not stable enough to have children (Oppos..199).
“Lesbians and gays love and form deep and lasting commitments just like
heterosexuals.
To claim otherwise is to declare that lesbians and gays are somehow not human
and ignore the reality of their lives,” (New Civil..125) Laws and social views
seem be conflicted on what they want because they say gay/lesbian relationships
are not stable, but than deny them the right to marry, therefore through laws
and legislation the are not promoting the behavior that they seem to require.
