I’d say that this news falls firmly into the “better late than never!” category.
U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine believes gay couples should be able to adopt if a judge deems it in the best interest of the child, he told the Washington Post in a recent interview.
“I think the best interest of the child is a pretty hard standard to argue with and I think that ought to be the standard,” said Kaine, the former governor who is now a candidate in the Democratic Senate primary.
[…]
Kaine said it was “very unfortunate” that the board voted the way it did after receiving advice from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) and Social Services Commissioner Martin Brown, an appointee of Kaine’s successor, Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s (R). All three opposed the proposed changes.
“I definitely don’t think the placement agency should discriminate and I think their rolling back on that regulation was bad,” he said.
I agree strongly with Tim Kaine on this. I’m also happy to see Kaine shifting from his stance in 2005, which was, “No couples in Virginia can adopt other than a married couple — that’s the right policy.” I mean, let’s be blunt: these people (Kaine, Obama, whoever) are politicians first and foremost, which means they have a keen sense for what the polls are saying. In this case, there’s been a dramatic shift in recent years in support of gay marriage and gay rights in general. That includes right here in Virginia, where a recent poll found, “By a 20 percentage point margin – 55 to 35 percent – Virginia adults think it should be legal for gay and lesbian couples to adopt a child in the state.” I’m not saying that was the only factor in Kaine’s shift on this issue – and obviously, George Allen, Bob McDonnell and Ken Cuccinelli are nowhere near supporting gay adoption, so obviously it’s not just polling that matters here – but if public opinion has helped push Kaine (or whatever politician, for that matter) to do the right thing in this case, I’m all for it.
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