Foxy,

As I mentioned earlier, the sexes of parents don't seem to make any difference. They're are far more important factors that influence a child's wellbeing. I provided a link to the results of a Google Scholar search earlier that had a lot of the peer reviewed literature on this topic if you're interested in it.

Yuyutsu is right with regards to sex roles. The importance society places on them actually does more damage than good.

Everyone is different. Some children may actually respond better to two parents of the same sex. It is presumptuous to assume that all children would be better off with two parents of the opposite sex, or that it even matters at all. It sounds like it should make sense, but reality is sometimes counter-intuitive.

.

A major study conducted by University of Melbourne researchers has concluded that same-sex parents actually raise children slightly better than straight couples.

The new research is a major blow to social conservatives who argue that gay and lesbian couples will raise gender-confused, worse-off children and blows the lid off the argument that every child "deserves" a father and a mother.

The research team surveyed 315 same-sex parents and 300 children, the largest such study on non-heterosexual parenting ever conducted. Multidimensional measures of child health and well being were performed, with the children of gay couples scoring about 6% higher than kids in the general population on measures of health and family cohesion. The results line up with previous international research taken on smaller sample sizes.

"That's really a measure that looks at how well families get along, and it seems that same-sex-parent families and the children in them are getting along well, and this has positive impacts on child health," lead researcher Simon Crouch told ABC. He elaborated that the study found same-sex parents "take on roles that are suited to their skill sets rather than falling into those gender stereotypes," and the result is a "more harmonious family unit and therefore feeding on to better health and well being." :

http://mic.com/articles/92945/a-major-study-reveals-what-happens-to-children-raised-by-same-sex-couples

.

This isn't a question of making me feel better as one
poster suggested.

This is a question of doing what's right for the child.

One size does not fit all - I realise that.
And that's why a blanket yes or no - I'm not to
happy in giving either one way or the other.
That's why I am having difficulty in coming to grips
on where I stand on this issue. I'm not entirely sure
what is best for the child. Your arguments are sound.
And -

I respect your opinions, but perhaps in this matter I still
am undecided due to predominantly the fact that the child
will have to face people outside the home and be judged
accordingly. I also feel that a child can benefit
from both male and female sides in its development.

To me there doesn't seem to be one set answer.
Perhaps it depends on each individual case.
I really don't know. I would love to say - yes homosexual
couples should be allowed to adopt children.
But in all honestly - I can't say that and mean it.
Perhaps I am more conservative than I realised.

I've just learned that the US High Court has voted four
to one to approve same-sex marriage in all the states
and when questioned Christopher Pyne said that Australia
should follow suit before the end of the year.

If this does happen then adoption should no longer be a
issue for same-sex couples.

"Christopher Pyne said that Australia should follow suit before the end of the year"

There you go, the LNP could deliver you and ors what you have been demanding for years and remove a tiresome time-waster that has allowed the Greens Protest Party and slack Labor politicians to compete for headlines and has consumed too much time of the parliament, House of Reps and the Senate.

All disposed of prior to 6 August 2016 and well before 14 January 2017.

otb,

I have not been demanding anything of the kind.
What I have been suggesting is to have a conscience
vote/referendum on the issue.
Why on earth do you make this personal.
And why turn this discussion into a political one.
The comment by Christopher Pyne does in no way
reflect what the rest of the politicians think of
this issue - on
any side of the political spectrum. The only way to
judge that would be to have a conscience vote on the subject
and find out.

Foxy,

You have my sympathies regarding this recent discovery that you hold a conservative belief. At least you're trying to do something about it though. A bit of reading on what the literature actually has to say on the topic and I'm sure you'll bop it on the head in no time.

Without wanting to sound patronising, I think I can understand the headspace you're in at the moment. I don't know how conservative you may have once been, but when I was a Christian, I had the trifecta of objections. I was against abortion, euthanasia and homosexuality. When I lost my faith, I still believed that these three things were wrong. It wasn't too long before it occurred to me that these three things I disapproved of may have just been leftovers or the dregs from my Christian days. After reading different opinions and facts on these topics, one by one, I eventually realised that I could no longer justify my objections to them.

Even after coming to accept homosexuality as a normal part of reality, I was still uncomfortable with the idea of same-sex marriage for a while there. But it didn't take long before I realised that my discomfort with the idea (which no longer exists) was not a rational reason to be against it, as so many of OLO's conservatives seem to think it is.

I appreciate your concern for the welfare of children. And unlike everyone else who pulls the, "Won't somebody please think of the children!" card, I believe you're actually sincere in your concerns. But for the reasons I pointed out earlier, I think they are unfounded and this is what the studies suggest too. I think what wmTrevor had to say helped put things into perspective too.

Should we have barred black parents from adopting white children because it may have resulted in bullying from other children? To what extent do we stoop to such discrimination because of the immaturity/bigotry of others?