HRC Back Story

Jeremy Pittman, HRC's deputy field director, today submitted this post on a ballot proposal to prevent unmarried couples from adopting children in Arkansas:

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There’s been a lot of attention to anti-marriage ballot initiatives in Arizona, California and Florida this year.  But you might not have heard about a terrible anti-family ballot initiative in Arkansas.  It’s called Initiated Act 1, and it’s a first-of-its-kind ballot initiative that would ban unmarried couples living together – both gay and straight – from becoming foster or adoptive parents.

At a time when thousands of Arkansas children are in foster care, many waiting for permanent homes, this right-wing initiative seems particularly cruel.

HRC has been supporting Arkansas Families First, the campaign working to defeat this initiative.  Along with the ACLU, we provided seed money to hire a campaign manager, and one of our terrific HRC Campaign College participants has been in Little Rock since August.  HRC is not alone.  Nearly every major child welfare agency and many prominent Arkansans have come out against Act 1.

At a recent press conference, thirteen retired Arkansas judges, including three former chief justices of the state Supreme Court, said they’re opposing Act 1 and that “it is in the best interests of the children that Initiated Act No. 1 be defeated.”  They were joined last week by Foster Care Alumni of America, who came out against Act 1 saying, “Until Arkansas has reached the point at which there are more qualified families taking in kids than there are children who need homes, the state should not limit the qualified pool of parents even further.”

This week, Arkansas Families first released their first TV ad.  Watch it below:

They also have a longer 9-minute web video about the issue that you can view here.

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UPDATE:  New results from the Arkansas Poll released on October 23 found that a majority of Arkansans are opposed to the adoption ban:

When asked whether they favored or opposed Arkansas Proposed Initiative Act 1, which would prevent anyone who cohabitates outside a valid marriage from adopting or fostering a child, 55 percent opposed the initiative. Some proponents have advocated for Act 1 to prevent adoption and foster parenting by gays and lesbians, and the 2007 Arkansas Poll had revealed that 53 percent of Arkansans supported prohibiting adoption and fostering by gays and lesbians. Even so, when it comes to voting for Act 1, Arkansans appear to be rejecting a blanket prohibition.