new york puts gay parents on birth certificates

Today, Gay.com reported that New York Governor David Paterson has issued a directive requiring the Health Department to allow a gay couple to have both partners’ names added to a birth certificate. What a momentous statement! Finally! A step toward the adoption of children by gay couples!

I am not one to call myself an activist, and have long considered that gay marriage debate to be stupid and not something that belongs in any legislature, but this is a wonderful bit of news. This signifies that some government body recognizes the legal standing of a gay family. FAMILY! Take that, conservatives!

I am adopted, as is my brother. Being adopted has had a profound affect on how we was raised, and, as our mother puts it, makes us a chosen baby. We are not simply the result of biology, we were picked by our parents. What I see when I read this headline is that there my be hope for a gay couple to finally adopt a new child as their own, together, selected out of love.

Why is adoption so important? Well, how many times have seen a family full of children that are not being taken care of properly. Come on, admit it. It might be crass to say so, but there are people we all know that have children they have no business having. It’s a cultural thing, in some cases, I’m convinced, but either way, its the “no business having kids” part that leaves some children lost in foster care, or orphaned, or abandoned altogether. Adopted children are sometimes picked out of hard situations and cared for. Sometimes, the people who deserve to care for children the most simply can’t have children, and I think its a good thing someone decided to give them an opportunity. My mother is one of these people.

So, what is so great about gay adoption? Think about it! Gay families have shown to have just a good a chance of succeeding as straight families. And these couples come together despite some severe adversity, and out of love, not obligation. There are probably only islands of places where two women or two men feel they must partner up out of cultural stymies. There is no wed-lock, little chance of eloping because of the legal process. And when they decide to have a child, despite all odds, it is out of love (or at least one can assume). What a formula!

Despite the happy, there is the ever-present protest case in such stories. There is a group from Arizona that is fighting the directive. They have been shot down in court once, but they are appealing. I hope the rest of the judges in New York have the sense of one Bronx judge, Hon. Lucy Billings.

Baby steps…baby steps….