Dear Policymakers,

I am writing to urge the state to allow -- and indeed encourage -- responsible, stable same-gender couples to adopt children in the Commonwealth in the same way and for the same reasons the Commonwealth encourages others to adopt.

There are just far too many children needing adoption, too many bounced from foster home to foster home, often with terrible consequences for their futures. I know gay men and lesbians who have been raising adopted children for some time now, and I can say from direct eyewitness that their kids are as well adjusted--often better adjusted-- as anyone else's kids, and that;'s really saying something when it comes to kids adopted out of foster care.

You already know the professional research by now, from child welfare and child psychology, which shows that there is no difference in outcome between kids raised by heterosexual adoptive parents and those raised by gay, bisexual, or lesbian parents. What matters is devotion, patience, love, and the willingness to help children learn and grow.

-- Marc DeFrancis