Melissa Etheridge shares her story about adoption and marriage
Melissa Etheridge knows how it feels to be denied the right to adopt because she’s gay.
“I remembered being a new mom in 1997,” she writes in a blog post at The Daily Beast. “I followed the long trail of red tape to find a way to adopt my children so they could be covered by health insurance, or so I could see them in the hospital in case of some emergency, along with dozens of other reasons.”
She was denied because California prohibited adoption by same-sex couples. But then with the help of a lawyer, she convinced a judge to overrule the denial and allow the adoption to go through.
Melissa now worries that the same obstacles will damage other families if voters pass Proposition 8, the California initiative seeking to overturn the state’s legalization of same-sex marriage.
“Now, I know my preference of lifemate freaks some people out,” she writes. “Maybe it is just their fear of sex or intimacy. I know that they hold up the Bible and say that it’s wrong. Fine, let me stand before my creator and take any consequences there might be to living my life in truth and balance with my spirit.”
Adoption and marriage should be allowed for same sex couples. If they had been,I would still have my child in my life. I am a non-bio mother that lives in a state that prohibits adoption. I had a co-guardianship agreement that apparently didn’t matter and the courts denied my case…twice. It’s been almost 2 years since I’ve seen my 51/2 year old daughter. And by the way- my ex still claims to be part of the gay community without realizing that what she has done is hurting our entire community and our children. Or maybe she does realize it and just doesn’t care.