After a video of two "married" men kissing a baby's cheeks went viral on social media, it has come to light that one of the men, Brandon Keith Riley-Mitchell, is a registered sex offender who used to be a chemistry teacher.
"He became very interested – I'll put like that – in one of the students," relays Diane Gramley of the American Family Association of Pennsylvania. "He was arrested and charged and found guilty of sexual assault of a minor boy."
His prior convictions also had to do with possession of child pornography.
"He since has – quote, unquote – 'married' another man," she adds.
The two men raised enough money through a GoFundMe campaign to hire a woman to carry a baby for them. It is unclear whether either of the men is the child's biological father, but regardless, Gramley says Pennsylvania state law does not require any type of investigation for someone who seeks a surrogate.
Registered sex offenders are prohibited from adopting or fostering a child, but there is nothing in the law that disallows a registered sex offender to become a parent through surrogacy.
Gramley thinks the state lacks a law addressing this simply because it never came up before now.
But earlier this week, State Representative Aaron Bernstein (R) began circulating a memo looking for co-sponsors so he can introduce a bill to the Democrat-controlled House that would address this.
He wants to prohibit sex offenders from obtaining legal parentage through a surrogacy agreement and require background checks and child abuse clearances for all intended parents prior to the issuance of a pre-birth parentage order.
Gramley says the Democrats are considering any pushback as transphobic or homophobic because it "stands in the way" of homosexuals like Brandon Keith Riley-Mitchell being parents.
However, knowing that one of the biggest demands in the pornography world involves babies, she is mindful of what is best for the child.
In this case, the baby boy will most likely stay with the two men until laws change, so Gramley encourages voters in her state to urge their representatives to become co-sponsors on Rep. Bernstein's memo.
