GOP Rep. On Gay Adoptive Parents: ‘Orphanages Are Still A Possibility’

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 25: Representative Chris Smith(R-NJ) speaks during a Capitol Hill briefing to discuss "the silent suffering of American children and their left-behind parents who are victims of international pa... WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 25: Representative Chris Smith(R-NJ) speaks during a Capitol Hill briefing to discuss "the silent suffering of American children and their left-behind parents who are victims of international parental child abduction" in the Cannon House Office Building on June 25, 2015 in Washington DC. (Photo by Kris Connor/ Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) argued in May that orphanages “are still a possibility” when asked about his opposition to gay couples adopting children, the Washington Blade reported Wednesday after recently obtaining a recording of the exchange.

In the recording, a high school student asks Smith why her gay sister, who’s discussed adoption, would be a less legitimate parent than a straight parent. Smith hems and haws before another student asks: “What makes them [straight couples waiting to adopt a child] more legitimate than her sister?”

“Well you know, in my opinion, a child needs every possibility of— You know, somebody mentioned orphanages before,” Smith said. “I mean, orphanages are still a possibility for some kids.”

The students told the Blade that elsewhere in the discussion, though it was not caught on tape, Smith said his position against gay adoption hadn’t changed since he voted to ban it in 1999.

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Notable Replies

  1. Don’t forget work houses!

  2. Avatar for sanni sanni says:

    New Jersey - you can do better than this. Blue wave him out.

  3. Please, sir. May I have some more, sir?

  4. Avatar for erik_t erik_t says:

    Better to institutionalize them than let them get recruited by Big Gay.

    It’s honestly hard for me to remember sometimes that odious, cretinous garbage like this still walks the earth. I’m not sure if even Trump gives much of a shit about gay people.

  5. orphanages are still a possibility

    How about Congress instead? There’s a district in NJ that could use a new Rep.

    Does the US even have orphanages? I’ve assumed it was all foster care, but there must be some children that need care they can’t get in a foster family.

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