Adoption support growing
Almost half of Australia believes same-sex couples should be allowed to adopt.
Support for same-sex adoption rights has jumped more than 10 percent in the last decade, according to Australia’s largest consumer poll.
Roy Morgan has tracked Australia’s attitudes to homosexuality and rainbow families for the past 10 years through its National Consumer Poll.
The annual survey, completed by 20,000 people each year, asks people if they agree or disagree that homosexual couples should be allowed to adopt, and if they believe homosexuality is immoral.
In 1999 32 percent of people believed gay couples should have adoption rights. That number is now 42.5 percent.
The number of people who believe homosexuality is “immoral” has conversely fallen from 35.5 percent in 2001, to 29 percent last year.
The “progressiveness” of Australians has likewise risen from 32 to 34 percent.
“The trend towards acceptance of homosexuality is real,” Roy Morgan’s CEO Michele Levine said.
“What we’ve noticed over the last 10 years is that Australians are becoming more open-minded in their views about a lot of things, including homosexuality.
Some gay and lesbian people asked to take part in the survey have expressed concern that the wording of the questions may skew the results.
“According to the question, it guides the participant to point out that the homosexual is immoral exclusively,” survey participant Fred Weisinger told Sydney Star Observer.
“It alarmed me that a strictly consumer poll should include such a loaded question. It does not seem a very harmless question.”
Levine said the wording of the poll had not changed in close to 20 years.
“You always run a little bit of a risk when you ask questions about anything people might be uncomfortable with. But it gets people excited because they can’t believe that the issue even exists, and why would we even be asking it,” she said.
“We ask because it used to be an issue and it’s faded. If you don’t ask, you don’t know. We’re not trying to upset people.
A NSW Senate inquiry into same-sex adoption earlier this year recommended the Government amend the Adoption Act to provide equal rights for gay and lesbian couples. Inquiry committee members David Clarke and Greg Donnelly were staunchly opposed to any such reforms.
“I don’t think there is any mandate for the Government to act in this report and I don’t think it is in the best interest of the children,” the Coalition’s David Clarke said. Labor’s Donnelly vowed to petition Government members to oppose reforms.
Both were contacted by Sydney Star Observer to comment on the Roy Morgan statistics. Neither responded in time for publication.
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Gay & lesbians couples can: –
1. Be foster parents;
2. Access IVF services, or home insemination procedures, and have children;
3. Enter into surrogacy arrangements to have children.
So why is adoption the big taboo when the other options of starting a family are available? It’s simply a case of using religion for hate. How many gay or lesbian couples with children do you see litigating over their kids? By far the majority of the really serious children’s cases in the family law jurisdictions, including care proceedings in the Children’s Court, involves opposite sex parents. But the religious bigots choose to ignore this fact in favour of their own bullshit propaganda.
NSW Senate – it is actually called the Legislative Assembly!!!!!
What only 42 percent support adoption for same-sex couples – while it is 60 percent support for same-sex marriage in 2009. This can not be right??????
How can there be more support for same-sex marriage than adoption for same-sex couples??????
Your quote: “Almost half of Australia believes same-sex couples should be allowed to adopt” – 42 percent is NOT “nearly half”!!!!!!
We have still got a LONG, LONG, LONG WAY TO GO YET!!!!
Also what annoys me is when the media say: “GAY ADOPTION LEGAL IN URUGUAY”
1. It is actually should be called by its proper term “adoption is now legal for same-sex couples”
2. SINGLE gays and SINGLE lesbians CAN and already DO adopt children! – Under the NSW Adoption Act 2000 No 75, single people can adopt a child.
3. No wonder why some of the public is “scarred and disturbed” by the use of the term “gay adoption”. This implies that you are adopting a gay child – which is not the case at all.
And finally 4. Complete equality is very important and the NSW Government must allow same-sex couples under the NSW Adoption Act 2000 No 75 the legal right to adopt a child (full joint adoption).
Media campaigns have more influence on public opinion than polls or politicians.
It is a common occurrence in Australia for children to be killed and/or abused by their parents or step parents or the partner of the biological parent.
In those cases the offenders are heterosexual and the media attaches personal responsibility to the offender and not to the heterosexual group.
We need the same treatment from the media. The treatment is that responsibility for illegal behaviour is attributed to the individual and not the group.
When a person breaks the law that person is rejecting the norms and standards and ethics of the group to which the individual belongs.
That is how heterosexual offenders are treated by the media.
We need to be treated the same way by the media.
When you consider the Same Sex Adoption Inquiry was meant to be a fact finding exercise for the Committee to report to Parliament with recommendations based on the findings, it was a disgrace that Donnelly and Clarke were on the Committee at all. Having given evidence at the Inquiry, it was obvious Donnelly and Clarke had made up their minds opposing same sex adoption in advance of anyone giving evidence. They were not interested in istening to rational submissions or of experiences. Instead they were openly hostile, didn’t ask any questions of any probative value, and they seemed intent on seeking to discredit or embarrass (they did not succeed). With people like them involved in the parliamentary process, I am afraid sensible law reform is not going to be easy.