The debate over whether to allow same-sex couples to adopt in Colo.
Re: “Adoption bill refires debate on voter intent,” March 14 news story.
State Rep. Alice Madden, sponsor of House Bill 1330, admits that the gold standard for raising children is one mother and one father. Yet, she claims that the gold standard cannot be met in every case, and thus we must allow adoption of children to single people, and unmarried couples both gay and straight.
Her premise is wrong. Colorado can meet the gold standard for adoption of children. Approximately one in seven married couples in the state of Colorado struggle with fertility. We have several couples waiting to adopt a child and willing to sacrifice for a child. They wait patiently for a child. After all, a child is a gift, not a right. Just because you want a child doesn’t mean you will get one. There have been several couples who yearned for a child and no child was available and/or the birth mother picked another couple. It is a silent cross that many childless couples carry.
Yet, adoption services are not in the business of giving childless couples a child. No, adoption services are in the business of finding parents for children who need parents. The focus is always on the best needs of the child, not the wishes of a childless couple. Our children deserve the gold standard; our children deserve to have the best chance at success. Our children should have a mother and a father.
Fr. Bill Carmody, Colorado Springs
. . .
Re: “Adoption bill is dishonest,” March 14 Al Knight column.
Al Knight decries House Bill 1330 because even though the bill is inclusive of all Colorado families, it does not explicitly state that families with two homosexual parents could benefit. The writers of the bill probably thought that this truth was self-evident: that all men are created equal. After all, who would want to deny a kid two loving parents with legal rights?
But Knight rails against homosexuals becoming beneficiaries of such a law without stating why he believes homosexuals can’t be good parents. He refers Colorado’s gay families that could benefit as “casual social experiments.” Never mind the numerous studies and articles written stating that a kid with gay parents can be just as happy as a kid with two heterosexual parents.
Does every bill that could possibly benefit homosexuals need that disclaimer? Do we really want to start writing laws for one group of people but not the other? And so what if gays and lesbians can adopt? If they’re willing to step up to the rigors of the adoption process and the challenges of parenthood, do we really want our government to tell them no?
Todd Craig, Colorado Springs
A plea from an Army veteran to end the war
It has been four years since we invaded Iraq. In that time, we have caused incomputable death and destruction to the people of Iraq. Meanwhile, our troops have lost their lives or suffered the immeasurable costs of fighting a war that is unjust and illegal. As a veteran U.S. Army soldier who served in the military since Sept. 11 and in Iraq, I truly understand and have experienced the reasons why this war must end now.
On this fourth anniversary, I am reaching out to my fellow veterans and active-duty soldiers, as well as so many civilians who have been deceived, and am asking them to join me in my fight to bring all American troops home now. As members of an all-volunteer military, we have the right to speak out about a war that has proven to be based on lies. Through the power of our collective experience, we can put an end to the continued death and destruction in Iraq.
As a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, I know that we must hold our elected officials accountable and settle for nothing less than making sure that all American troops come home now.
Jared Hood, Denver
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