Well, let’s just say the broader law is certainly subject to legitimate debate. I’m always predisposed to oppose any extension of government regulation into the private sphere (where tax dollars are involved, whether by breaks or subsidy, that predisposition starts to fade very rapidly). I’m also old-fashioned enough to think that asserting that the ‘best’ parental combination (there really has to be a better way of putting that) is ideally a mother and a father need not be evidence of bigotry. That said, what matters above all in these cases is the interest of the child, and I doubt that preferring a blanket ban over a case-by-case approach achieves that.

What’s more, the choice we’re talking about here may well not be between homosexual and heterosexual adoptive parents, but between some parents rather than none. That’s worth remembering.