Results: Redefining Parenthood

Benjamin Carpenter is not your typical dad. He's single, for one, and gay for another. He became a dad when he was 24, and now at 33, he is the proud dad of four children. Each of them has special needs: 10 year old Jack is autistic and has autism-related OCD. Ruby, 7, has Pierre Robin syndrome, a visual impairment, scoliosis and limited use of her arms as a result of missing radius bones. Lily, Ruby's 5 year old biological half sister, is deaf and uses Sign Language to communicate. The youngest, 3 year old Joseph has Down syndrome and uses a colostomy bag. At just 21 years old, Benjamin made the decision to adopt his first child and says he knew in his heart that he was willing to provide a home for a child with additional needs. "I just wanted to be a dad," he recalls of initially making the decision to adopt. It took over three years for him to finally convince an adoption agency that he would be a good choice as an adoptive dad, and now, he is an advocate for adoption, as an adoption panel member, a role which allows him to grant permission to adoptive parents as well as match children with their new families. Do you believe that a person''s sexual orientation and/or single status should not be a qualification for adoption?

The last decade has seen a sharp rise in the number of same sex couples forming their own families through adoption, foster care, artificial insemination and other means. Researchers estimate that the total number of children nationwide living with at least one gay parent ranges from six to 14 million. Good parenting is not influenced by sexual orientation. Rather, it is influenced most profoundly by a parent's ability to create a loving and nurturing home -- an ability that does not depend on whether a parent is gay or straight. I for one, would rather have a child raised by a same sex couple or even a single parent than sitting in foster care -- or worse, and the fact is there are far too many children who need loving homes to deny anyone based only on their sexual orientation. Do you agree or disagree with this?