Against their beliefs

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell has faced loud criticism from gay rights groups since an April 5 press conference in which he announced his opposition to proposed adoption regulations that would force faith-based agencies to place children with homosexual and unmarried couples.

The proposal originated at the desk of McDonnell's predecessor, former governor and current U.S. senate hopeful, Democrat Tim Kaine.

In an email to WORLD Virginia, Taylor Thornley, Deputy Director of Communications at the Virginia Governor's office, said that the issue is one of freedom for religious organizations.

"Governor McDonnell believes the current adoption regulations are effective and fair," said Thornley. "The new regulations...would force religious organizations, which facilitate a significant portion of adoptions in Virginia, to go against their beliefs to comply with state adoption policies."

Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director of the Family Equality Council, a gay and lesbian advocacy group, disagrees. She stated in an April 7 press release, "State agencies and adoption providers must judge the quality of prospective parents based solely on their character, their capabilities as a parent and their capacity to provide children a loving, stable home." She appealed to McDonnell not to allow what she cited as "politics" to stand in the way of allowing gay and lesbian couples to jointly adopt.

However, organizations such as the Family Research Council have expressed reservations about the comparability of gay and lesbian couples to married heterosexual relationships. A 2003-2004 Gay/Lesbian Consumer Online Census reported that only 15 percent of homosexual men describe their current relationship as lasting twelve years or longer.

Thornley added that the Governor's office is re-crafting the adoption reform proposal to align with the McDonnell administration's position. "[We intend to] ensure that the necessary changes to Virginia's adoption regulations encourage adoptions and... protect the religious beliefs of...faith-based adoption organizations in Virginia." The proposal will be presented to the board of the Virginia Department of Social Services (DSS).

Historically, McDonnell has advocated socially conservative positions. A Catholic, he identifies himself as pro-life. In 2004, McDonnell was chief patron of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

Virginia currently permits adoption by unmarried and single gay individuals, but bans joint adoption by unmarried couples. However, the law does allow children born in Virginia to be adopted by out-of-state gay couples. A Feb. 2011 report from the Virginia DSS states that there are 5,852 children in the state's foster care system.

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