Friday, October 12, 2007
I read on another website (sorry, don't have the link right now) that one of the commentors believed children have a "right" to a mother and father. I'm not completely sure what is meant by that, but I think I have a pretty good idea. The implication is that, if a child has two same-sex parents, then that is "depriving" them of their "right" to a mom or dad.
First of all, I don't think children have a "right" to a mom and a dad. Certainly, all children naturally have a male and female biological parent, and of course they should be allowed by inalienable right (and indeed encouraged) to live together as a family; but sometimes those parents die/leave/get divorced, leaving the child with only one parent. How will the government then secure this "right" for the child? Will it find a replacement for the missing parent? If so, how will it accomplish this--by persuasion? Bribery? Force? Of course, this thought exercise is leading down the path of plain silliness, but it's unfortunately a logical extension of a "right" to a mother and father.
I think rather that what is implied is that if a child has two moms or two dads, that this is somehow depriving the child of something he or she would have otherwise had. Au contraire! If the situation were different, and the child's gay parent had not found a partner, it's likely the child would simply have a single parent. And I think we can all agree that a single parent is less optimal than having two parents. If the child in question is adopted, then why not praise gay couples who want to love and raise a child who would otherwise have no parents at all? There are certainly more children to be adopted than there are people willing to adopt--there can be nothing gained by denying a child a loving, two-parent household simply because it is not viewed as "optimal".
Rant concluded.
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First of all, I don't think children have a "right" to a mom and a dad. Certainly, all children naturally have a male and female biological parent, and of course they should be allowed by inalienable right (and indeed encouraged) to live together as a family; but sometimes those parents die/leave/get divorced, leaving the child with only one parent. How will the government then secure this "right" for the child? Will it find a replacement for the missing parent? If so, how will it accomplish this--by persuasion? Bribery? Force? Of course, this thought exercise is leading down the path of plain silliness, but it's unfortunately a logical extension of a "right" to a mother and father.
I think rather that what is implied is that if a child has two moms or two dads, that this is somehow depriving the child of something he or she would have otherwise had. Au contraire! If the situation were different, and the child's gay parent had not found a partner, it's likely the child would simply have a single parent. And I think we can all agree that a single parent is less optimal than having two parents. If the child in question is adopted, then why not praise gay couples who want to love and raise a child who would otherwise have no parents at all? There are certainly more children to be adopted than there are people willing to adopt--there can be nothing gained by denying a child a loving, two-parent household simply because it is not viewed as "optimal".
Rant concluded.
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