NEW YORK, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- U.S. adoption agencies now look more favorably to placing children with gay and lesbian couples, a report said Wednesday.
Sixty percent of agencies accept applications from lesbians and gay men and 40 percent have placed children with homosexual couples, according to a study by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.
Those most likely to place children with gay people are public agencies, non-religious private agencies, Jewish- and Lutheran-affiliated agencies and those focusing on special needs and international adoptions, the report said. Agencies concentrating on finding homes for U.S. infants were less receptive.
About 19 percent of responding agencies said they sought out homosexual adoptive parents or advertised themselves as "gay friendly."
The finding is expected to add more fuel to the already hot debate over gay marriage, USA Today said, an argument that picked up momentum after the Supreme Court struck down Texas' Anti-sodomy laws in June.
Conservatives want a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
