All orphaned, unwanted or unborn children deserve loving homes, and there is no shortage of married couples eager to adopt them. But in our relativistic age, where marriage is seen as passé and gender confusion abounds, some cohabiting couples want to adopt in order to create a family.

When the state becomes involved in the “creation” of that family, the vulnerable children who cannot be cared for by their biological parents need as stable an environment as possible.

A stable home environment is “in the best interest of the child.” Generally speaking, nontraditional couples do not provide the stability and the basis for the development of proper gender identity to the same degree and in the same way as married moms and dads.

Experience shows that while moms and dads aren’t perfect, they provide the optimal conditions for a child’s spiritual, psychological and personal development. With so many married couples today on waiting lists to adopt unwanted unborn children, there is no need to conduct a risky social experiment with children by placing them with two parents who have not made a marriage commitment.

As research demonstrates, the family structure does matter: A family headed by a biological mom and dad is the best for children, parents, and society as a whole.

More About This Issue

• Are the Kids Really All Right? 
• Are Married Parents Really Better for Children?
• Marriage from a Child’s Perspective

Parents have the God-given responsibility to raise their children according to their beliefs and convictions.

FACT supports the rights of parents to determine how and what their children will be taught, and to shape the environment in which they will receive their education. Additionally, teachers shape the thinking of children for a lifetime and are entrusted by parents to model the critical thinking and spirit of free inquiry needed to succeed in the world.

Parents, students, and teachers are under assault from those who would take away their constitutional rights. FACT is working to protect those rights.

BULLYING

The State of Tennessee has adopted policies that prohibit all forms of bullying for any reason, however, the law could allow local school districts to establish anti-bullying policies that promote a particular political agenda or that protects some children at the expense of others.

FACT supports laws and policies that protect all students, regardless of their beliefs, both from bullying and from suppression of their freedom of speech and right to religious expression.

INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM

FACT supports academic freedom for both students and teachers in all subjects. This includes creating an environment that encourages the development of critical thinking skills and allows free inquiry, by both students and teachers, into arguments or controversies surrounding the subject matter being taught.

SEX EDUCATION

Sex education is part of the Tennessee state school curriculum, but how sex ed is taught can have a dramatic impact on a child’s future. FACT supports sex ed programs that give an accurate view of the consequences of sexual behavior.

Unfortunately, current state law does not ensure that all children will be told the truth about sex.

The claim that same-sex parenting households are just as good as married, biological parents, is not supported by any substantial evidence and is almost certainly false. Empirical studies indicate some problems with same-sex parenting, and inductive reasons give further cause for concern.

More About This Issue

• Same-Sex Parenting, Child Sexual Orientation, and Sexual Experiences
• Examining the US National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study
• Yale Survey on Same-Sex Parenting