Children of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parents denounce Presidential Candidate McCain's Statements about Adoption

Republican presidential candidate John McCain announced his disapproval of adoption by gays and lesbians this weekend in an interview with The New York Times. McCain, who with his wife, Cindy, has an adopted child, has aligned himself with President Bush, who vehemently opposes adoption rights for gays.

The idealized family that McCain supports represents less than 25% of all American families. There are millions of families in the United States headed by single parents; foster parents; grandparents; they are blended or 'step' families; families headed by LGBTQ people; chosen families; families that live together and apart - there are at least as many family formations as there are families. With his anti-gay sentiments, McCain has disparaged all of these families.

On behalf of the many thousands of children adopted by gay and lesbian parents in the United States, Beth Teper, Executive Director of COLAGE, asserts, "What matters most in a child's life is the quality and consistency of parenting not the number, gender or sexual orientation of their parents."

A joint study by the Urban Institute and the University of California, Los Angeles's Williams Institute shows that an estimated 14,000 adopted children in the United States are living with gay or lesbian parents. About 130,000 children live in the foster care system in any given year awaiting a permanent home, according to the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

David Jenkins Cain, a member of the COLAGE Speak OUT program and a Lieutenant Corporal Officer of the United States Marine Corps shared, "I am a product of gay adoption, a two parent family. My moms taught me the importance of working hard to achieve your goals regardless of adversity and any obstacles. Most Americans would consider this to be good family values."

Michelle Duso, a parent member of COLAGE's national Board of Directors, who adopted three children with her partner Julie, responded with disappointment saying, "As an adoptive parent himself, Senator McCain ought to be ashamed of himself for being willing to close doors to permanent, loving homes by dismissing and opposing adoption by LGBT (and straight) individuals and couples while over 100,000 children and youth linger in foster care. Beyond the $130 million that the existing bans on LGBTQ adoption could cost the nation, the human costs are even more astounding."

COLAGE stands with our members and allies to challenge the homophobic assumptions at the root of McCain's anti-adoption stance. We invite him to learn more about children, youth and adults with LGBTQ parents and our families and demand that he apologize for his ignorant and disgraceful comments and shift his stance on children and LGBTQ people during the current election season.