March 3, 2006

Lawmaker's bill would bar Republicans from adopting

Sponsor Hagen says it's just like the anti-gay
one from the �caveman caucus�

by Eric Resnick

Columbus--A state senator says he wanted to point out the absurdity of an Ohio House bill to outlaw GLBT adoption and foster parenting, so he lampooned it with a bill of his own.

Democrat Robert Hagan of Youngstown sent out a co-sponsorship request for his �Republican Adoption Ban of 2006� on February 22.

In the request, Hagan said his bill is modeled after the real bill, introduced by Republican Ron Hood of Ashville and eight other anti-gay cosponsors.

�It is unclear at this point whether Rep. Hood supports my legislation, though I remain hopeful,� wrote Hagan.

�Credible research exists that strongly suggests that adopted children raised in Republican households, though significantly wealthier than their Democrat-raised counterparts, are more at risk for developing emotional problems, social stigmas, inflated egos, an alarming lack of tolerance for others they deem different than themselves, and an air of overconfidence to mask their insecurities,� Hagan continued.

�In addition, I have spoken to many adopted children raised in Republican households who have admitted that, �Well, it�s just plain boring most of the time�,� said Hagan.

�In fact, one adopted child raised in a fiercely partisan Republican household in suburban Cincinnati described his upbringing as �18 years of hellish terror,� and �A nightmare I haven�t yet awoken from�,� he concluded.

There is no actual bill, only the co-sponsor request letter.

�Theirs is serious, mine is in jest,� Hagan said. �but I wanted to point out how discriminatory and hateful that bill is.�

�What [Hood] and the caveman caucus offered is so absurd,� said Hagan, �I wanted to offer something just as absurd.�

�And believe me, I�m no fan of Republicans,� said Hagan. �I live among them because I have to, and they even come to my house, but I wouldn�t want any of them to marry my sisters.�

�Is a bill that calls to ban Republicans from adopting children or serving as foster parents any less irrational than one that bans homosexuals, bisexuals, and transgender Ohioans from the same? Is my legislative proposal any less lacking in sound reason and scientific credibility than [Hood�s bill]? Is my motive for offering this legislation driven any less by ill-will or animus towards a particular group of Ohioans than [Hood�s] motive?� Hagan asked. �The answer to each, of course, is no.�

Hagan cited a Columbus Dispatch report saying that 2,784 Ohio children were awaiting adoption and 19,430 were in foster care as of December 31, 2005.

�If conservative Republicans in the Ohio Legislature are serious about protecting adoptive and foster care children, I welcome the opportunity to discuss and debate this very important issue,� said Hagan. �Unfortunately, H.B. 515 and any future bill like it takes a very big step in the wrong direction.�

Hagan praised House speaker Jon Husted, a Kettering Republican who is himself adopted, for putting Hood�s bill on the �back burner� in order to deal with �more pressing issues.�

�The General Assembly was facing the same array of problems� when it passed the so called defense of marriage act in 2004, Hagan said. �The question then is not if legislation like H.B. 515 will pass, but when,� Hagan said.

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