Homosexuality

Family is one of the most important elements of society. Our first lesson of life is learned within the family. The family teaches us how to love and how to interact with other people. Our family makes us the way we are, shapes our personality, and helps us to adjust to the environment. In the United States most families are comprised of mother, father, and one or more dependent on them children. Even though the vision of this form of family is very strong, it is now in minority in the United States (Hunt, Colander 2005)." Today, 70 percent of America's families are nontraditional" (Bender 13). For years the common model of family was nuclear (mother, father and their children). The model has changed and it is still changing. We can find new forms of family such as single parent families or children raised by grandparents. One form of non-traditional family is the same sex family. In the last decade the number of homosexual couples forming their own families has been on a rise. Many people wonder if children raised by two people of the same gender will be the same as children of heterosexual parents. There is none stopping debate whether homosexual parents should have the right to raise children and become adoptive parents. Same sex couples should have to same right as heterosexual couples to rear children because parents' homosexuality has no effect on children psychological, mental and emotional health and adjustment to the society.

Homosexuality is still misunderstood by many members of our modern society. Many people consider homosexuality a mental disease. However in 1970's American Psychiatric and Psychological Association has removed homosexuality from the list of mental disorders (Hamner 264). For many years same sex partners have been battling for the right to marry. Same Sex Marriage is defined as a "legal union of two people who are of the same biological sex or gender."(Wikipedia) Currently same sex marriages are legally recognized in Belgium, Netherlands, Canada and Spain. Some other countries recognize same sex unions. In the United States only the state of Massachusetts recognizes same sex marriages, other states offer same sex unions (Vermont, Connecticut), and domestic partnership (California, New Jersey, Maine).

Same sex couples want to have the same rights as heterosexual couples. They want their relationships to be recognized by the law and accepted by society. Most people get married to create a family and to have children. Recently, gay and lesbian couples are experiencing a baby boom. It is estimated that 6 to 14 million children are living with one or two homosexual parents (Johnson 2004). More and more lesbian women and gay man are making the decision to become parents. They are adopting children, becoming foster parents and having biological children through insemination. In last several years surrogacy has became very popular form of becoming a parent in gay population.

Alexandra Silets and Kelly are a lesbian couple who live in Chicago with their three children. When asked if they think that their kids are being raised differently than children of heterosexual parents they said:

Our children are being raised with an awareness of how many different kinds of families there are. Not specifically that they are different from the "norm" but rather that there are all kinds of ways that people become families and ours is just one of them. For example, some kids have just one parent. Some are raised by a grandparent. Likewise, some have two parents: two women, two men or a man & a woman. In this way, we are hoping to teach them to respect all kinds of differences. While many heterosexual parents raise children with these