Despite fears from gay rights activists that bills to ban gay adoption would be a hot topic in state legislatures this year, only one such ban has actually been introduced — and it appears unlikely to win approval.

Ohio gay families are the first to face what some gay groups claim may be a potential onslaught of state bills to ban gay people from adopting or becoming foster parents, as social conservatives attempt to ride on the coattails of successful anti-gay marriage bans.

Ohio House Bill 515 was introduced Feb. 9 and states a person may not adopt "if the individual is a homosexual, bisexual or transgender individual; the individual is a step-parent of the child to be adopted and is a homosexual, bisexual or transgender individual; the individual resides with an individual who the court determines is a homosexual, bisexual or transgender individual."

Other states that gay rights activists speculate might introduce similar bills include Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.

With many state legislative sessions under way, some activists are surprised no other gay adoption bans have been introduced.

"It is interesting only one state has filed a bill to ban gay adoption and, frankly, that’s not where we expected to be," said Jennifer Chrisler, director of the Family Pride Coalition, a national organization that works for gay families.

Chrisler said her group is organizing with local and national groups, including the Human Rights Campaign and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, to defeat bans on gay adoptions.

"Some people know they can very easy use this as a political wedge issue. Texas will have another foster ban in 2007. But polling shows people believe it should be up to social scientists and professionals to determine what is best for the child — perhaps this is why the issue has lost its steam," Chrisler added.

While Georgia is on the list of potential states to see legislation to ban gay adoption or foster care, no bill has been introduced, and the General Assembly is set to adjourn in about two weeks.

Georgia Equality received a $28,000 grant from the Human Rights Campaign to hire a lobbyist to specifically combat any proposed bill to ban gay adoption or foster care.

"I think they realized the timing was all wrong. This is an election year and they decided to go after issues Georgians are interested in, such as immigration and taxes," said Chuck Bowen, Georgia Equality executive director.

Carrie Evans, HRC state legislative director, said the group also granted money to Mississippi to fight any proposed gay adoption measures.

"We are treating this issue with a level of intensity," Evans said. "I think the that fight state and national gay groups are putting up are forcing the social conservative groups to take a step back."

Ohio bill ‘divisive’
Ohio is the first state this year to go after gay adoption, but seven states last year filed measures to ban gay adoption and, in some cases, ban gay foster parents as well.

The 2005 bills in Arkansas, Alabama, Indiana, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia all failed, but activists said that doesn’t mean gay adoption is no longer a hot topic for social conservatives.

"These people cannot reproduce. … Experimenting on children through gay adoption is a problem," Rev. Russell Johnson, chair of the Ohio Restoration Project, a conservative Christian group, told USA Today in a Feb. 20 article.

The Ohio bill was introduced by a Republican, Rep. Ron Hood of Ashville. But it was immediately derided by GOP House Speaker Jon Husted as "divisive," and it is not expected to pass.

"There’s growing concern within the Republican Party of continuing to introduce this divisive legislation," Scott Borgemenke, Husted’s chief of staff, told the Associated Press. "We don’t think there’s some cottage industry of homosexual adoptions. We do believe people are losing their jobs."

Equality Ohio praised Husted’s comments.

"The swift and strong opposition to this bill from the leadership in Ohio’s General Assembly is a sign that Ohio’s legislators put the needs and interests of Ohio’s children first," Lynne Bowman, the group’s executive director, said in a prepared statement.

Florida is currently the only state to expressly ban adoption by all gay people, although Utah restricts adoption to married couples, effectively banning gays, according to the ACLU Lesbian & Gay Rights Project. Mississippi bans adoption by gay couples.

Arkansas and Nebraska do not ban adoption by lesbians and gay men, but do prohibit them from becoming foster parents, according to the ACLU.

Marriage bans
This year, voters in six states will decide whether or not to alter their state constitutions to ban same-sex marriage. Legislatures in another 13 states are considering whether to put similar measures on the ballot in future elections, according to HRC’s Evans.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) is also calling for a June 5 vote in the Senate on the Marriage Protection Amendment, which would change the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and woman

Tennessee’s proposed ban on same-sex marriage is likely to pass, said Chris Sander, spokesperson for the gay Tennessee Equality Project.

But the fact that the bill’s language does not contain limits on domestic partner benefits or civil unions gives TEP a strange ally in opposing the proposed constitutional amendment — the socially conservative Family Policy Network.

"The problem with the Tennessee bill is that it doesn’t go far enough," Tennessee FPN spokesperson Ron Shank said.

"All it does is protect the word ‘marriage’ — not the institution of marriage," Shank added. "We obviously oppose the proposed amendment for different reasons — they [gay activists] say it’s too strong, we say it won’t do the job it was set out to do."

A debate over domestic partnership benefits in Colorado also put a conservative group in an interesting situation.

The socially conservative Focus on the Family is backing a bill by state Sen. Shawn (R-Broomfield) that would extend "reciprocal benefits" to any two people who cannot get married under state law.

Mitchell’s bill is a response to a domestic partnership referendum proposed by Rep. Tom Plant (D-Nederland), which specifically addresses same-sex couples and their rights, including the adoption of a partner’s child and other "benefits, protections and responsibilities under the law as are granted to married spouses."

Joe Glover, national spokesperson for the Family Policy Network, said Focus on the Family, led by James Dobson, is "dead wrong" by supporting Mitchell’s bill.

"While the bill says nothing about granting benefits to homosexual partners, I’ve yet to see a group of elderly sisters clamoring for support of this bill, which Mr. Dobson said this kind of bill would benefit — that’s just comical," Glover said.

Gay-related legislation pending around U.S.

State legislatures are in session and lawmakers are considering an array of measures, from pro-gay marriage bills to bans on adoption by gay men and lesbians.