Your Stories
The Importance of Friendly State Laws
“The patchwork of state laws and the fact that some states have rejected the legitimacy of other state laws definitely has played into our consideration of where to live, work and travel as a family.”
Protection from Custody Challenges
“What scares me is that I can't give my partner what she so very much deserves, a legal part of this child's life.”
Sad State of Affairs
“Because we live in Virginia, where second-parent adoption is not permitted, the children have only one legal parent.”
Second-Parent Adoption Means Security
“But it will always be my job to provide for her financial security and without the benefits of second-parent adoption, it would have been much harder to do that.”
Obstacles to Adoption
“The caseworker doing our home study was the first to hint that we might not be considered "acceptable" parents by Child Protective Services because we are a lesbian couple, regardless of the fact that we already have two children from my partner's previous marriage.”
Our Family
“We want a family. We want a child of our own. We want to adopt a child of our own.”