Uruguay very near of approving a law that would allow same-sex couples to adopt children

I don’t hear much mention about Uruguay, and when thinking about that country, I usually think of actress and singer Natalia Oreiro. In other words, Uruguay is a country that doesn’t seem to receive a lot of attention, at least not like the rest of the “barrio”, like Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Chile, etc. But today there are good news coming from that small country.

Uruguay approves a law project that would allow homosexual couples to adopt children.

The initiative got green light in the House of Representatives and now will go to the Senate, where a quick acceptance is expected. If that happens, it would be the first Latinamerican country that allows adoption by same-sex couples

So many times I think of Latinoamerica as a ghetto neighborhood in which neighbors are often yelling and fighting with each other. But it’s nice to see that in that ghetto, there is an intelligent, loving and tolerant neighbor that makes a difference and gives us hope for a better future.

On the other hand, just like many comments in the page suggest, there are many who are not going to be happy with that. I bet my arm that the Catholic Church is not happy with this decision either (I just checked and I was right). That’s good. When it comes to gay people, the catholic church usually behaves as if it hasn’t changed in 1500 years, still full of hatred and superstition. It’s nice to see how some of the Uruguayan congressmen are different:

“What is important is love and the quality with which a home is built for the kid, and not the sexual option of his or her parents”, said Pablo Alvarez, congressmen for the party that is now in power to El Espectador radio.

He is right. According to the American Psychological Association:

1. Do children of lesbian and gay parents have more problems with sexual identity than do children of heterosexual parents? For instance, do these children develop problems in gender identity and/or in gender role behavior? The answer from research is clear: sexual and gender identities (including gender identity, gender-role behavior, and sexual orientation) develop in much the same way among children of lesbian mothers as they do among children of heterosexual parents. Few studies are available regarding children of gay fathers.

Of course, not everyone agrees:

“All children have a right to be adopted by a father and a mother and should have, from our point of view, a clear reference of father and mother’, said congressmen Pablo Abdala, from the opposition party”

Well, his point of view is wrong. Just because it has been happening for centuries doesn’t mean it’s right.

I’m glad for Uruguay.