Gay Foster Parents

The second issue I wanted to touch on today is this statement by Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee: I'm very disappointed that the court seems more interested in what's good for gay couples than what's good for children needing foster care.

On Thursday of this week, the Arkansas state Supreme Court unanimously struck down a ban on gay couples serving as foster parents in that state, on the grounds that the preponderance of evidence fails to show any negative effect on children raised by homosexual couples as compared to heterosexual couples.

But the part of Mr. Huckabee's statement that I find the most odious is this: it is my understanding that there is generally a shortage of qualified foster care families to take care of unfortunate children who end up in the foster care system. As a result, anyone who can provide a stable, loving environment for these children should be encouraged. Far from having the interests of gay couples at heart, in fact the Court has the best interests of those foster-eligible children who might otherwise end up in orphanages or other state run programs for lack of sufficient foster providers.

In other words, Gov. Huckabee in making his claim is actually putting what's good for his own political career in what seems to be a generally right-wing leaning world over what is good for children in the foster care system. To have this level of self-interest-trumping-compassion, and then make such an odious false charge, that's disgusting.

I nominate Gov. Huckabee for Keith Olbermann's next list of Worst Persons in the World.

Liam.