Sorry for the delay in replying, Dave, but I do occasionally have to devote some time to real life.
I've spent some time going over this thread again,and I DO have to apologise to you. Your objections have all related to the possibilities of ridicule from outside, and not to the orientation of the foster parents.
However, this does seem somewhat naive, given the vast number of reasons why children are teased by their peers.
Why would you single out this one as more serious than any of the others?
During the last fifteen years, working in a primary school, the most common cause of ridicule has been about fashion, more specifically designer trainers. Children whose parents cannot afford £80+ for a pair of Nike or Reebok trainers, which will be outgrown in two to three months, are ridiculed for being poor and ostracised when they turn up in shoes bought in the market.
Is that acceptable risk or should only the very rich be allowed to foster?
Depending on where you draw the line, the number of children in institutional care will be affected, since there is already a shortage of suitable parents, and, as I have said before many children have been abused in municipal carehomes.
In addition, by debarring same sex couples from fostering, you prevent a tiny minority from offending (maybe, but they'll find other ways) at the price of demonising the vast majority, and please don't try to tell me that you don't believe THAT will happen.