Despite the Iowa Supreme Court striking down a state law limiting marriage as unconstitutional and paving the way for legal same-sex marriage in the Hawkeye State, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin said he still personally feels that the best environment for an adoptive child is placement with a dual-gender couple.

Harkin, in responding to a question on the topic as a part of regular conference call with the media by Carroll Daily Times Herald reporter and Iowa Independent alum Douglas Burns, stammered a bit before admitting that he continues to personally prefer child placement with and adoptions by heterosexual couples.

“I guess my position is still the same, all things being equal,” Harkin said. “But sometimes they are not. Sometimes heterosexual couples may not be the best parents for adoption because of a lot of reasons. Sometimes gay couples may be better. Again, it all depends on the circumstances.”

Adoption agencies, Harkin said, should be very thorough in their investigation of potential parents, providing critical scrutiny of both character and background.

“[Couples] should not be discriminated against whether they are heterosexual, gay or lesbian,” Harkin said. “All things being equal, you look at the character and the background and the suitability of the couple to raise a child. Still, I guess if everything were equal, my proclivity would be to have a heterosexual couple … but I’m also saying that there may be times when that is not the best.”

Describing the situation as a “thorny social issue,” Harkin expressed that his desire was not to pass judgment on any prospective parents.

“I’ve known gay couples who have raised children and they’ve done great in doing that,” he said. “The children did not grow up to necessarily be gay or lesbian.”

Following the conference call, Kate Cyrul, spokeswoman for Harkin, clarified the above statement by explaining that “the Senator was attempting to refute the myths perpetuated by opponents of gay adoption.”