Personally i feel that if two people are in love there should be no reason why they should not be able to pass that love onto a child, as long as they are capable and loving parents i dont see a problem. I have had a gay guy as a friend for many years, this guy has been with me through thick and thin, he has given me some great advice and steered me in the right direction many times, i feel that this guy would make a wonderful father because for the last few years hes been a great one to me.
Speaking aginst this issue i do have to wonder how a same sex parentship will affect a child when it comes to mixing with people in school or in the workplace, these children will probably get an awful lot of stick from less tolerant people, we can only hope that in a few years people will be nicer than they are now, but something tells me that wont be the case. I wouldnt want to be in the shoes of one of these children but i think that this would at least give them life experiance.
I will always support this issue despite any problems it may cause.
in my opinion all children need is love if you love your children the rest will come naturally and two men or two women can love children just as well as a male/female couple, some women who are married to men can't have children does it make them wrong to adopt or go for help? or should these women just accept they can't have kids and live with it?
So much I want to say but I think I better leave it a while.
In Edit: Actually there isn't much I need to say. I KNOW in my heart that a child would be better off with myself and Mrs Kiss rather than in a childrens home.
Sadly there are some people that think two lesbians are good enough to shag but not raise children, but that's their issue, not mine.
Hey I'm sure you guys are right and the way i feel is just the result of a thousand previous generations drummed into me. I know in my heart that Kids would be far better in a loving stable relationship than anything other regardless of how the couple is made up.
The thing is i suppose like most things there is a transitional period. One in which maybe its right to feel odd about changes. I would not ever say to my children that the way i feel aboout issues is right that is for them to discover how they feel. All i hope is that they get a fair view from all sides. At least this way by me asking the questions they may never need to.
I don't think its wrong to say, "I have an opinion, I'm not sure about it, I think I'd like some more information so I can think about it further."
If more people did this, rather than just sitting firmly with beliefs that have been instilled rather than considered, perhaps our society might be more accepting and understanding.
Well one for asking a difficult question Lost.
H.x
Can I just ask what your opinion would be if it was father and grandfather.
Say the mother died and dad had to go back to his parents home to keep his children rather than have them fostered out cause he has to work.
Would that make any different?
Just a thought.
DD xx
Without adding an opinion (maybe later), there was a discussion on this very topic on the radio a while ago. One person made a comment which seemed to stop the discussion stone dead, it was;
"The best mother and father team will always be better in bringing up a child than any other combination".
For example, if you had a mother with the nature of Mother Teresa (for instance) and a father like Nelson Mandella (for instance), then the qualities they would bring together to rearing a child are far greater than two Mother Teresa's or two Nelson Mandella's.
But trying to work out the combinations of quality parenting must be almost impossible, which is better, a mother teresa single parent or an average married couple?
Way beyond me that one.
John
I think They could do the same job, although society as a whole doesn't help, whats worse is the affects children may have to witness first hand, by taunting bullying etc, its ok me saying its ok but im thinking for myself when i answer that, I could only give a definative answer if i had been brought up with same sex parents and i wasn't, but i don't see why people are saying "it's better than a childrens home etc" Of course it is, but that wasn't what the question was and not all same sex couples get there children from them either! as for fertility treatment what has that got to do with the question that was asked?
Wasn't he referring to animals though? If a heterosexual couple have fertility treatment it still doesn't make them same sex parents, and i don't think anyone that thinks same sex couples shouldn’t raise children have to also be against fertility treatment, adoption etc as it's a different topic altogether.
I haven't read all the posts so forgive me if this or some of it has already been said but here's my two peneth worth on the subject in hand.
I think that if a couple, or person, regardless of sexual orientation can give a child a loving, caring and stable home then they should be able to give that child a home and be free from any whispering or clandestine comments from people around them.
In reality though we live in a very black and white society still, things are moving toward becoming a bit more diverse but old attitudes are still prevalant and opinions still biased.
The only thing that would bother me about same sex couples having children is that it could, if not handled and dealt with correctly and appropriately, lead the child to develop orientation toward same sex relationships that the child would not possibly normally have developed?
We are all to a fairly high degree products of our environment and it would be a good idea in this situation i think to make sure the child knew that the parents were "different to other parents" for want of a better phrase in that they were a same sex couple and that the implications of this and the fact that sexual orientation is a matter of personal choice and development were made very clear so as not to "cloud the judgement" "bias one alternative" or any of those other phrases we hear when conversing on these topics.
Not sure if anyone will get my point or possibly take it the wrong way but just my thought on the origional thread!!
your posting is a valid one, lets just say religion has a huge part to play in this, as it does wars.
Good points SRNE. Part of the 'nature versus nurture' debate, methinks.
I don't think that all children who are brought up by two or more people of any gender, will necessarily develop the same sexual inclination. If that were the case, there wouldn't be any gay people at all! I know of gay people who have come from very straight-laced, prudish backgrounds. One of my favourite lines from a song is 'I believe you can't control or choose your sexuality' (Affirmation, Savage Garden)- I think it's spot on.
Children will be made very aware that they are from a differently parented family grouping, once they are in school. I think a great deal of sympathy and skill would be required, to help children through any problems this might cause.