Romney Wrong On Gay Adoption Facts

Submitted by Cheston Catalano

Mitt Romney was wrong when he said “gay adoption is legal in all states but one.”

Not even close. According to the Human Rights Campaign, which tracks state laws relating to gay rights, the District of Columbia and just 18 states — Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington — allow joint adoption by same-sex couples. Same-sex couples have successfully petitioned to adopt in some jurisdictions in Colorado and Minnesota.

The Romney campaign responds:

Only one state – Mississippi – explicitly bars same-sex adoption by statute. Miss. Code Sec. 93-17-3(b). Utah is frequently cited as another state that bars same-sex adoption, but that prohibition applies to any cohabitation relationship involving persons of any gender who are not married. And, regardless, the point Gov. Romney is making is that this is a state issue, which is what he thinks it should be.

By: Cheston Catalano

Cheston Catalano is a Kentucky-based journalist whose work has been featured in the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle. He is a long-time contributor to Liberaland.