Leaving chil'ren behind...

A bitch is thrilled! My ass now knows of three stay at home Papas…one in Sweden (that would be my favorite Angry Swede, P.O.P.) and a bitch is pretty sure the others are North American. Fantabulous!

This bitch is still on the topic of parenting. No, my ass isn’t pregnant! Jesus! A bitch knows there was that rumor going on within the United Church of Bitchitude and Latter Day Drunks that my ass was expecting the Anti Christ, but let me assure everyone that a bitch was just bloated.

Anyhoo…parenting!

Missouri lawmakers, desperate to tackle the huge issues facing the state, have decided to launch an attack on gays…again. Yep, they are certain that gay Missourians should not be foster parents and that by denying gays the right to foster Missouri chil’ren they will address our mounting healthcare crisis, monumental meth drama, laughable public education system, rising STD crisis, fucked up to hell and back roads, stagnant job market and general Midwestern blahs. Yeah…the top issue in 2006 has just gotta be gays as foster parents!

This bitch is fucking pissed off that, with all the problems facing Missouri, our legislators have decided to waste time and my fucking money waging another war against the Missouri LGBT community. This is such a fucked up wedge issue…but it’s just the kind of wedge your average sanctified Missourian will dive at.

It’s important that people understand the special circumstances in Missouri regarding foster care…

The meth factor…
Missouri is America’s meth factory. We lead the nation in production of meth and it has been devastating Missouri communities for years. Since meth is a hard habit to kick, our social services have been overwhelmed with the number of chil’ren thrown into foster care while their parents try to kick to habit or serve their time. There are entire towns that have the majority of their chil’ren in the system. The meth factor isn’t going away tomorrow, so Missourians will need to brace for a multi-year foster care crisis.

The 'I want a Child from my own womb' factor…
A bitch has a really good friend who adopted her child from the state. She was able to complete the process rather quickly, because she was willing to adopt a child of color (she is white), she’s straight and married and she was willing to adopt a child with special needs. Great kid, by the way. Anyway, her adoption experience is rare in a state that has too few blond and blue-eyed babies eligible for adoption and too many brown on brown babies languishing in foster care.

Now, a bitch understands wanting a child the old fashioned way. My ass understands wanting a child that looks like you and maybe shares some of your ethnic history. Lawd knows this bitch has concerns about brown chil'ren being raised outside of our culture...but then again, my ass has seen it work beautifully...just as long as the childs hair isn't tore up and they learn the value of lotion...well, shit there's more to it than that, but it does take some extra work to raise a child of color when that isn't your history. Anyway...since my family has a history of illness, anxiety, general craziness and what we like to call colorful personalities…well, my ass isn’t exactly running a risk should a bitch adopt.

At any rate, there’s not exactly a run of other people's chil’ren in Missouri.

The fuck this shit, my ass is going to buy some sperm and skip the drama factor…
Many gays and lesbians choose this route. Shit, many straights choose it too. A bitch has several friends who either found a surrogate or found some sperm. They still faced some legal drama to establish dual parental rights, but nothing like the brave individuals who are now taking on the state of Missouri in an attempt to foster or adopt.

All of these factors and many more bleed together across America. One would think, in an anti-abortion state like Missouri, groups would be eager to encourage adoption and foster care. One of the leading reasons women opt not to go the adoption route is the concern that their child will languish in foster care and never find a permanent home. But here, in a state that pontificates about valuing life, there is an organized effort underway to make gay foster care impossible.

A bitch is disgusted, because this effort will deny many chil’ren a loving home.

A bitch is disgusted, because there are so many chil’ren who are being used as a political punching bag by the conservative right…the same conservatives who don’t have any fucking foster kids, have three divorces under their belts and probably kick puppies when no one if looking.

A bitch is disgusted, because our foster care system is in a crisis that will only get worse…so this attack on the LGBT community is beyond insulting in a time when more and more chil’ren enter the system.

And a bitch is disgusted because my state is leaving so many chil’ren behind…all in the name of Gawd.

To find out more about this emerging battle in Missouri & find out what you can do, check out this web site for PROMO.

To find out more about what may be happening in your state, you can start with this web site for HRC.

For information about foster care in Missouri, check this site out.

Get active and be vocal, because no one wins when chil'ren are left behind...