La. family commission cool to gay couple adoption
BATON ROUGE, La. -- A gay rights group proposed Thursday to the Louisiana Commission on Marriage and Family that the state should allow gay couples to adopt children together, an idea that received a frosty reception from commission members.
The New Orleans-based Forum for Equality Louisiana presented the idea in a video showing same-sex couples raising children together. Besides the gay and lesbian parents, the video included interviews from New Orleans City Councilman Arnie Fielkow, an Episcopal priest, a rabbi and others supporting gay adoption.
After the video presentation ended, however, the idea was greeted with little enthusiasm from commission members in a state with a voter-approved constitutional ban on gay marriage.
Commission member Gene Mills, director of the conservative Christian group Louisiana Family Forum, said the presentation seemed out of line with the commission's charge, and he noted the state constitution defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
A few minutes later, he added, "I really believe, as was stated earlier, that every child deserves not just two parents, but a mother and a father."
Louisiana law allows married couples or a single person to adopt a child.
If a single person adopts a child and is in a relationship _ whether straight or gay _ the partner in that relationship has no legal parental rights, even if the partner is involved in raising the child. Gay couples aren't allowed to marry in Louisiana and can't legally adopt children together.
Kenny Tucker, chairman of Forum for Equality Louisiana, said the group would like to see unmarried couples able to adopt children. He cited the order creating the marriage and family commission, which says one of the group's charges is to help strengthen "family units" and reduce "the incidence of single-parenting."
"If you want to reduce incidents of single-parenting, we strongly believe allowing two-parent adoptions is the way to go," Tucker said.
Rep. Frank Hoffmann, R-West Monroe and a member of the marriage and family commission, said he doubts that idea would gain traction with state lawmakers. He said legislators have repeatedly backed the "traditional family structure."
The Louisiana Commission on Marriage and Family was created by former Gov. Mike Foster and has been renewed since by two governors, including Gov. Bobby Jindal, who re-established the commission in a 2008 executive order. The 29-member group includes lawmakers, state agency officials and appointees of the governor. The commission is charged with making policy recommendations to the governor about marriage and family issues.