- Gays preferred to grandparents in Edinburgh
- The Daily Mail - UK
- 29/01/2009 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: The Rooster ( 258 articles in 2009 )
TWO children in Edinburgh are to be adopted by a gay couple after their grandparents - aged just 46 and 59 - were ruled too old to look after them.
The protesting grandparents were told they'd never see the two again unless they dropped their opposition.
For two years, the couple fought for their rights to care for the five-year-old boy and his four-year-old sister, whose mum, 26, is a recovering heroin addict. They agreed to adoption only after they faced being financially crippled by legal bills.
Then they were told the children were going to a gay household, even though several heterosexual couples wanted them.
"It breaks my heart to think that our grandchildren are being forced to grow up without a mother figure," the grandfather said.
"We are not prejudiced, but I defy anyone to explain to us how this can be in their best interests."
His wife said: "It's so important for children to fit in, and our grandchildren will be marked out from the start when they draw pictures of their two dads."
The case raises concerns about state interference in family life. Council social workers were worried that the grandparents' ages and health problems meant they would be unable to care for the children properly.
The grandfather, a farm worker, has angina and his wife is on medication for diabetes.
The children were taken into foster care during the two years of court hearings. The fostering arrangement worked well, but the council decided that the children should be adopted.
The grandparents agreed, as long as they could be assured that the adoptive parents would be a loving mother and father.
Social workers dealing with the case admitted that approved adoptive parents who were heterosexual had also been keen to adopt the children.
The decision was taken even though a confidential social work report said the little girl was "wary of men in general".
- Daily Mail
The protesting grandparents were told they'd never see the two again unless they dropped their opposition.
For two years, the couple fought for their rights to care for the five-year-old boy and his four-year-old sister, whose mum, 26, is a recovering heroin addict. They agreed to adoption only after they faced being financially crippled by legal bills.
Then they were told the children were going to a gay household, even though several heterosexual couples wanted them.
"It breaks my heart to think that our grandchildren are being forced to grow up without a mother figure," the grandfather said.
"We are not prejudiced, but I defy anyone to explain to us how this can be in their best interests."
His wife said: "It's so important for children to fit in, and our grandchildren will be marked out from the start when they draw pictures of their two dads."
The case raises concerns about state interference in family life. Council social workers were worried that the grandparents' ages and health problems meant they would be unable to care for the children properly.
The grandfather, a farm worker, has angina and his wife is on medication for diabetes.
The children were taken into foster care during the two years of court hearings. The fostering arrangement worked well, but the council decided that the children should be adopted.
The grandparents agreed, as long as they could be assured that the adoptive parents would be a loving mother and father.
Social workers dealing with the case admitted that approved adoptive parents who were heterosexual had also been keen to adopt the children.
The decision was taken even though a confidential social work report said the little girl was "wary of men in general".
- Daily Mail
Source: https://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24976392-661,00.html
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