Steve Largent: “this is a very short, very simple amendment. In fact it is only 30 words long. But it does, I admit, have far reaching…”

“this is a very short, very simple amendment. In fact it is only 30 words long. But it does, I admit, have far reaching ramifications about what the House decides today. Thirty words. It is not very complicated. In fact it is very, very simple. If you have not read it, let me read it for you. It says, ``None of the funds contained in this act may be used to carry out any joint adoption of a child between individuals who are not related by blood or marriage.'' That is the amendment. Let me give my colleagues a little background about why we need to have this amendment. In 1895, Congress passed the first adoption laws for the District of Columbia. They were amended in 1954. Congress passed adoption laws for the District of Columbia. Congress did that. In 1991, there was a court case that arose in the District of Columbia. Two men, living together, petitioned an agency to adopt a young girl. They were denied. They appealed it. It went to the District Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia and in 1995, 2 rac{1}{2} ext{ years ago, 3 years ago, a District Court of Appeals said that those two individuals had the right to jointly adopt the little girl. Now, let me make this perfectly clear. That there has never been, in the history of this country, a legislative body that has voted and passed a measure that said it is okay for unrelated individuals to jointly adopt a child. That was done through a District Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia.”