Arkansas Gay Adoption Ban Faces Constitutional Challenge

By Evan Mix

Published on January 08, 2009

On November 4, 2008, voters in the state of Arkansas approved a ballot measure making it illegal for unmarried couples to adopt children or become foster parents.

Now the measure faces a legal challenge backed by the ACLU alleging that it is unconstitutional due to civil rights violations. Defendants include Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services, and the Arkansas Child Welfare Agency Review Board.

Critics of Initiated Act 1 claim that the law excludes many potentially qualified foster and adoptive parents to the detriment of children in need. The law prohibits all unmarried couples, even those related to a child, from providing care regardless of the parents' wishes. As such, critics argue that it is counter-productive to the state's responsibility to act in the interest of children for which it is responsible.

Proponents of the bill, including the conservative Family Council, have stated that they expected a lawsuit. They believe they crafted the bill in such a way that it can stand up to any conceivable legal challenge.

Though the bill affects both heterosexual and homosexual unmarried couples, the Family Council has explicitly characterized it as an attempt to prevent gay adoptions and foster parenting. It was drafted after a state regulation banning gays from the state foster care program was struck down in 2004.

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