Lobby groups in New South Wales react against gay adoption rights bill
Lobby groups in the Australian state of New South Wales are reportedly coming out against the country’s upcoming parliamentary debate and conscience vote on the rights of same-sex couples to adopt children.
Clover Moore, an Independent Member for Sydney, introduced the Adoption Amendment (Same-Sex Couples) Bill in June, which seeks to remove current discrimination against gay couples in adoption law.
However, Matt Akersten, writing for samesame.com.au said: “The bad news is that the lobby groups reacting against the equality measure are making waves, while our community is silent.”
Last week, NSW MP Penny Sharpe tweeted that she had received 28 emails from lobby groups against the bill, but none in favour of it.
The Australian Christian Lobby have been vocal on the issue, saying that they believed placing children with same-sex couples “would deny kids the right to both a mother and a father’s love.”
They continued: “Men and women complement each other in parenting a child and play different roles in the upbringing of children.
“This is not a gay rights issue. Adoption is a service provided for the benefit of children and it is the best interests of the child that should be centre of this debate.”
The Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby are now urging people to contact their local MP with support for ending the discrimination against LGBT people adopting.
They said: “The Bill furthers the best interests of children by permitting same-sex couples eligibility to adopt. Prospective parents should be assessed on objective criteria, not on their sexual orientation.”
Last year, Australian parliament conducted a six-month inquiry into same-sex adoption and found that changing the law would be in the best interests of children.
Same-sex couples in Australia are allowed to foster children, but full adoption rights are only currently available to LGBT couples in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Tasmania and Western Australia.
