The Traveler

Issue date: 2/18/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Pamela Acosta Anne Shelley holds Eva Mae at Old Main lawn. Shelley adopted Eva Mae with her partner Robyn Rose last year. Shelley is working with Arkansas Families First to fight a ballot initiative that would prevent unmarried, cohabiting couples from adopting children or being foster parents.

The Families First Foundation is trying to include legislation on the November 2008 ballot to prevent unmarried couples from adopting children or serving as foster parents.

The legislation is titled Arkansas Adoption and Foster Care Act. The organization is collecting petition signatures to ensure its placement on the November ballot, according to the group's Web site. In order to ensure placement on the ballot, they need 100,000 signatures by July 7.

The issue stems from a 2004 trial in which four gay Arkansans sued the Arkansas Child Welfare Agency Review Board for refusing to allow them to become adoptive or foster parents. The trial was interrupted when a key witness died in a car wreck, leaving the issue unresolved.

Organizations such as the Families First Foundation are trying to settle the issue with legislation before the courts can rule on its constitutionality.

The organization asserts that unmarried couples are not suitable adoptive or foster parents because the children might then be sexually confused or even more susceptible to experimenting with their sexuality, according to its Web site. The Web site also cites a few articles and studies that support the claim.

However, there has been opposition with the founding of Arkansas Families First to combat the legislation. Arkansas Families First feels it is fighting for family equality, according to the Family Equality Web site. The act would only deprive needy children of good homes. They think the act would only make the problem worse, according to the Web site.

The idea that gay couples are unsuitable parents is "absolutely ridiculous and fear-based," said Anne Shelley, with Arkansas Families First. "There is no difference in how much a child is loved," she said.

Arkansas Families First is actively educating the public to combat the legislation. "I think once people are educated about it, they will decline to sign the petition," Shelley said.

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