http://www.acsblog.org/equal-protection-and-due-process-735-arkansas-judge-says-all-parents-are-equal-regardless-of-sexual-orientation.htmlArkansas' child welfare board, which enacted the ban, is authorized by statute to promote "the health, safety and welfare of the children." Therefore, the ban on gay foster parents is only authorized if it advances one of these three goals. According to Judge Fox's findings, gay parents do not in any way increase the risk of adjustment problems in children, nor are psychological, behavioral or academic problems more likely in children of gay parents, nor are gay parents more likely to abuse their children than straight parents. Furthermore, while the court did find children of two parent homes to be better off than children of one parent homes, the genders of their parents had no impact on the children.
The "blanket exclusion not only doesn't promote the health, safety, and welfare of minor children, it may actually run counter to furthering such state interests," said Fox in his opinion.