One Letter At A Time

Thanks to the Kingsport Times-News for printing my letter to the editor regarding the adoption ban bills before the Tennessee legislature. I even received the added bonus of an editor's note. You can read it on-line and make a comment. Others have.

I hope residents of Tennessee will contact their legislators and voice opposition to SB0078 and its companion bill HB0605. These bills will prevent adoption of children by qualified couples. This legislation will hurt residents of the Tri-Cities. I work with families on a daily basis. A couple in my church is raising a child. With this type of legislation, they would not be able to adopt this child and achieve the needed legal and social support.

This bill is ideologically based and does not take into account the lives of real human beings. These are hard-working people who pay taxes and who vote. They provide stable, loving homes for children who would otherwise have nowhere else to go. Perhaps the sponsors would like to raise these children, pay for their education, food, clothing, shelter, and medical expenses? Or should we send them to the orphanage, forget about them, and let the taxpayers foot the bill? Discrimination is ugly and expensive.

Rev. John Shuck
Johnson City

Editor’s note: The bills prohibit adoption by couples of the same or opposite sex who are cohabitating outside of a marriage which is valid under the Tennessee Constitution.

Check the PFLAG Tri-Cities blog for more information.

Go to About.com for questions regarding adoption. It is a helpful resource.