Ark. voters ban unmarried couples from adoption or foster parenting; evangelical, rural votes key

"Rural counties and evangelical voters fueled by a pulpit campaign pushed Arkansas into adopting one of the nation's strictest bans on unmarried couples serving as foster or adoptive parents," The Associated Press reports. "The result surprised opponents, as Gov. Mike Beebe said he opposed the measure because of a lack of foster homes in the state. Arkansas Families First, a group that has been campaigning against the measure, launched a series of television advertisements urging voters to reject the ban," which was supported by literature from the Arkansas Family Council and sermons from pulpits.

The state exit poll by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International showed the initiative passed because of support from evangelical or born-again Christians. Among those who so identified themselves, 65 percent voted for the ban. Among those who didn't, 48 percent voted for it. The ban got 61 percent of the rural vote, which accounted for 44 percent of the exit-poll respondents. It got 57 percent in suburbs and 51 percent in urban areas.

"Arkansas joins Utah, home to a large, conservative Mormon population, as the only two states with bans on unmarried straight or gay couples fostering or adopting children," AP reports. "Mississippi bans gay couples, but not single gays, from adopting children. Florida is the only state in the nation to ban gay adoption outright." (Read more)