Julie Pressley

Professor Briggs
English 1010 at 10:00
November 12, 2015
Gay marriage has happened, what about adoption?
Annotated Bibliography
After recent laws have passed allowing you to be in a same-sex marriage a lot of
discussion has come up. Weve reached that step in society where before it was a strong
opposition to same-sex marriage to growing majorities supporting it, but have we even thought
about the adoption rights for these same-sex couples? How is it going to affect society and will
the children be raised right? Many of these unanswered questions have popped up within the last
year after a five-four decision, the Supreme court ruled that same-sex partners have a
constitutional right to wed, extending gay marriage to all 50 states.

Cameron, Paul, and Ellen C. Perrin. Q: Does Adoption by Gay or Lesbian Couples Put
American ChildrenInsight on the News. 22 Apr. 2002: 40-43. SIRS Issues Researcher.
Web. 29 Oct. 2015.
Summary:
There are three different sets of information to take into account whether being raised by
homosexual parents is a risk or an advantage. Clinical reports of psychiatric disturbance of
children, testimonies of children, and comparative studies (par. 3). A number of clinical reports
detail children acting out and in many of the testimonies the children had said that they live
with it rather than deal with it (par. 5). In Q: Does Adoption by Gay or Lesbian Couples Put

American Children at Rick? the authors express their opposing viewpoints on whether being
raised by homosexual parents puts children at risk for problems. They have 57 personal
narratives from the children that prove that living with homosexual parents are more problematic
than advantageous. A 12-year-old boy in the United Kingdom said sometimes when my mum
embarrasses me, I think, I wish I had a dad (par. 8).
Another study shows that after examining over 10,000 obituaries of homosexuals, the
average death for women and men was in the late 40s or 50s and the average American lives into
their 70s. Children with homosexual parents are considerably more apt to lose a parent to death
(Par. 19).
Analyses:
Paul Cameron uses a lot of personal opinions in his argumentative article but he also used
a lot of statistics to prove his points and he also went right to the source to get the best
knowledge. He was able to get narratives from the children and it made his point more solid and
credible. Hes going for the audience who wants the right answers by quoting the AAP; the
American Academy of Pediatrics, and proving their evidence wrong and not being able to give
correct sources. He also uses incredible emotion that shows that he is passionate about the topic.
Assessments:
I used this article in my Annotated Bibliography because I thought it was really credible
and it gave some valid points. I also thought that this could benefit my Annotated Bibliography
because its what is happening right now in society. We are dealing with the heated topic of
should Same-Sex couples be allowed to adopt and this article gives some strong evidence
supporting that it could actually affect the child. This article also relates to the fact that maybe
its not a good idea because of all the hurdles you have to get through.

Corregan, Shannon. Remove Same-Sex Adoption Hurdles. Times-Colonist. 18 Jul. 2014: A.11.
SIRS Issues Researchers. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.
Summary:
Shannon Corregan believes that it shouldnt be a hurdle for a child to be adopted. It is a
shame if you are highly qualified to adopt but get rejected due to an irrelevant consideration,
such as your sexuality (par. 9). Researchers showed that living in a home with gay couples
shows partnerships and households that are built on equality. Studies show that children who are
raised in the home of same-sex couples arent going to be treated the same in schools because of
the stigma. Its the stigma of same-sex relationships that hold couples back from being able to
adopt. Gay couples are often more equitable when it comes to things like child-rearing,
household chores and overall relationship maintenance, and this has positive results for children
raised in these environments.
Analyses:
In this article Corregan uses the research of other Universities to help prove her point.
Her audience is targeted to either same-sex couples who should agree that it is a hurdle or to the
complete opposite group of people that think same-sex adoption isnt okay because she is
pointing out the facts of what good could come of it. She uses a lot of personal opinion and
emotion to help her argument and to also appeal to the readers emotion. She didnt bring in the
other side of the argument just stuck with what she felt about the topic.
Assess:
I chose this article because I wanted to know the struggle that Same-sex couples had to
go through to be able to adopt. I was also just another piece to help decide if same-sex adoption

is okay. This article is about the positives of gay adoption and pushing to get the hurdles
removed. Almost completely opposite of the first article.

Lewin, Tamar. Final Holdout on Same-Sex Adoption. New York Times. 13 Aug. 2015: A.9.
SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.
Summary:
Mississippi put a one-sentence law forbidding adoptions by same-sex couples in 2000.
Ever since the law it has become an obstacle for same-sex partners to adopt and even raise foster
kids. One couple took this to court to fight the law and have it removed after same-sex marriage
became legal. Janet and her wife Donna, rise Donnas little girl and Janet wants to be able to
adopt her and have rights to the child as well not just the birth mother. The reason for this is
because Donna is in the military and if anything were to happen to her, she would want her wife
to be able to raise her daughter.
After fighting in court for a long while Judge Carlton W. Reeves of the United States
District Court found that Mississippis ban was unconstitutional, taking away fundamental
rights owed to every citizen (par. 16). After this many states started allowing same-sex couples
to second-parent adoptions which is the right for married couples to adopt their children.
Mississippis governor also said that A persons sexual orientation has absolutely nothing to do
with their ability to be a good parent (par. 19).
Analyze:
In the article Final Holdout on Same-Sex Adoption Tamar Lewin uses strong evidence to
support his article by bringing in current court cases that have successfully happened allowing
for same-sex couples to adopt within the families. She doesnt put her opinion in the article shes

just stating whats happening and using the emotion of her evidence to take part of her article. It
seems very knowledgeable of whats going on especially since it is such a current hot topic. The
genre of this source would be an informative essay. After reading this point of view it changed
peoples perspectives.
Assess:
I think that this source is very important since it brings up some valid points about
Mississippis ban on same-sex adoption. Since this topic is so relevant I feel like it has a huge
importance in my Annotated Bibliography. It also changed my mind on how I felt about the topic
because of the way this article is portrayed. The court case that she brought in helped her article
be more knowledgeable about whats going on and that it ended up removing the ban do to
previous laws being put in place.

Mays, Stephen. What about Gender Roles in Same-Sex Relationships? They Say I Say, Graff,
Birkenstien, Darst. New York: Norton, 2015. 718-720. Print.
Summary:
This article is about same-sex relationships and their role in the relationship. He goes on
talking about this if they like certain things it doesnt make them the man or the woman in the
relationship. If one of us cooks dinner once, or every night for that matter, it isnt because he s
the woman of the relationship. Hes probably just better at it than his partner (719). He goes
on saying that is doesnt matter if you like going shopping or going to the gym. Thats your
personality. You wouldnt call a girl in the gym a guy or a guy in the mall a girl. He also says that
if a man is looking for someone for more physical characteristics its not because they want to b
the girl in the relationship but because maybe they just like doing outside things and want

someone to do them with. Neither sexual preferences in the bedroom nor our daily
characteristics have any effect on that biology (719).
Analyze:
He uses his personal opinions and feeling to help support his article. He doesnt source
anyone this is just a personal reflection of what his feels. He doesnt give any statistics. It could
be credible and it also could not just depending on the person because this is an article that is
based on emotion and feelings not facts and data.
Assess:
I chose this article because it was in the book and it was where I first started out with
everything. This was the article that gave me my main ideas to write my Annotated Bibliography.
I think it relates to same-sex adoption because Im sure people get asked whos the mom or
whos the dad and this article clarifies that its neither. They dont have to pick which one they
want to be. If they both want to be the mom, great. If they both want to be the dad, even better!

Conclusion:
I enjoyed being able to figure out on my own what I feel about this topic. With Same-Sex
Relationships, it is mostly based on personal opinions. You cant really create statistics because
everyone is different. I didnt come into this with a lot of questions but I am leaving this with a
lot of answers. Same-sex Adoption isnt for everyone, but for those who are committed to having
a happy family I believe that they could do anything that they set their minds too.