A Christian family are fighting a last minute legal battle to prevent their children being adopted by a gay couple.
The grandparents, aunt and uncle of two young boys have pledged to take care of them and provide them with loving homes. Social workers., however, have refused them.
A few days ago the boys were introduced to a gay couple ahead of a formal adoption next month. The mother of the children and her parents have taken the matter to court.
The grandfather of the children said, “The boys thought they were getting a new mummy and daddy, not a daddy and daddy. We are not homophobic, but we feel strongly this adoption is against our family's Christian values,” reports The Daily Mail.
The grandmother also said, “Our grandsons are being forcibly taken from a family who want them dearly. We are worried they will be indoctrinated into a different lifestyle. This is social engineering by the state.”
For two years, the children have been taken care of by foster parents. The mother was monitored by social workers, following the birth of the first son, for post-natal depression. However there has been no suggestion that she has harmed or neglected the children.
The children were considered to be “at risk” by social workers four years later, when their father hit their mother, reports The Daily Mail. Social workers claimed the mother had allowed the children to be “emotionally harmed” by the sight of her being physically abused.
The parents separated and the mother took out an injunction to prevent the father coming to the family home but later allowed the father to see the children. When social workers discovered this they took the children into care in March 2007.
The mother said, “The boys kept saying they missed their father. I made a mistake by letting him back to see them. But that does not mean I should lose my sons for ever.”
She has said that she does not think a homosexual family is an appropriate way for her children to be brought up. Her brother and his wife have offered to bring up the children.
