/CNN did a gallop telephone poll of 1,008 adults and came to some interesting conclusions.The number of people who believe homosexuality is acceptable has gone up 10 percentage points since 1982 . . . 44 percent of the people surveyed found homosexuality to be acceptable. But, while leading an alternative lifestyle is more acceptable to many, the poll also showed that 68 percent of the respondents think marriages between homosexuals shouldn’t be recognized by law or have the same benefits as traditional marriages (8).These respondents were all adults, but what about children? How are they affected?Children are our nation’s most valuable assets. It is one thing to be born into a heterosexual family, and then many years later find out that one of the parents is homosexual. It is considerably different to be adopted as an infant and learn from the beginning years that drastic differences exist between most other children and yourself. The long-term effect on children in these circumstances is still a very new area of research, so there is not much data available. However, “we know that young children tease one another unmercifully; adding this dimension does not seem to be a step in the right direction” (Wilson 38).Adoption of children by gay couples is an area where homosexuals believe they can make significant strides in their struggle to legalize homosexual marriage. Gay rights activists are starting to focus their attention on the family itself, specifically, the rearing of children as a means to their marriage goals. Courts are beginning to make some controversial decisions regarding this issue. Some state courts have ordered society to place children, caught in the middle of a custody dispute, with their homosexual parent instead of their heterosexual one. Lesbian couples are having themselves artificially inseminated with the semen of a homosexual male friend in exchange for handing over to him a se...
