On the recordAugust 6, 1998
I oppose the Largent amendment. Whatever my personal opinion in this matter, decisions about who can and cannot adopt a child should be left to the states and not the Federal government. Americans do not want the Federal Government dictating adoption laws. These matters are properly left to the states and local adoption judges. In addition, this amendment is written in such a way as to have a number of unintended and negative consequences. As has been pointed out, the Largent amendment would prohibit two nuns from adopting a child. I don't believe we should hold the District of Columbia to a different adoption standard than we do with the other fifty states. I therefore urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.
Source
govinfo.gov
