Bill seeks level field for gay couples in adoptions

PHOENIX – Democrats in the Arizona Legislature want a law that requires judges to give preferences to married heterosexual couples in adoption stricken from the books.

The legislation introduced in the Senate and House removes language giving preferences to a husband and wife over others in adoptions. Backers say the Supreme Court’s decision last year legalizing same-sex marriage bans laws giving preferences to heterosexual over gay couples.

Sen. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, also said single parents shouldn’t be given second-tier status, so the proposal eliminates preferences for married couples.

He also points to the approximately 19,000 children in state foster care as a reason to change current law.

“Anyone who would argue that it’s better off to leave a foster kid in a group home instead of in a loving family, even if it happens to be a mom and a mom or a dad and a dad, is arguing out of their own ideological interest not out of the interest of the kid,” said Farley, the lead Senate sponsor.

The Senate version, Senate Bill 1171, is assigned to the Health and Human Services Committee chaired by Sen. Nancy Barto, R-Phoenix. She opposes Farley’s bill.