Arkansas Voters Pass Ban on Unmarried Couples Adopting or Fostering Unwanted Children

By Aaron Poehler

Published on November 07, 2008

On Tuesday, nearly 57 percent of Arkansas voters approved a ballot measure barring adoptive and foster care children from placement in the homes of couples who are not married.

Proposed Initiative Act No. 1, the Arkansas Adoption and Foster Care Act, was characterized by many of its opponents as a veiled attack on homosexual adoption, though the measure as passed will prevent any unmarried couple, heterosexual or homosexual, from adopting or fostering children. Supporters of the measure pointed to studies stating that cohabiting couples tend to provide less stable family environments and tend to divorce more frequently than couples who have not cohabited prior to marriage.

The measure was proposed in the wake of a 2006 decision by the Arkansas Supreme Court which struck down a policy barring homosexual citizens from acting as foster parents. Prior to the election, the Arkansas Family Council Action Committee gathered approximately 90,000 signatures to place the measure on the ballot.

Exit polling showed a large percentage of those voting to support the ban identified themselves as born-again Christians. Little Rock's Pulaski County voters offered strong opposition to the measure, voting to reject it by a margin of 15,000 votes, but many of the state's southwestern counties registered an overwhelming degree of support for the ban.

Previously, only the state of Utah had a similar law banning adoption by unmarried couples.

 

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