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Gay couple who always wanted to be dads now adopting their 7th child, a gay teen

Gay couple who always wanted to be dads now adopting their 7th child, a gay teen
Eric Charles-Gallo, center, with husband Louis Gallo, left, and newest addition, Darnell, right. They’re surrounded by their other six kids and a foster baby.
Eric Charles-Gallo, center, with husband Louis Gallo, left, and newest addition, Darnell, right. They’re surrounded by their other six kids and a foster baby. Family photo

Yahoo! Parenting:

Right from the start of their relationship, Eric Charles-Gallo and Louis Gallo of Kansas City, Missouri, knew they wanted to be dads.

“We only wanted one kiddo at first, and thought we’d be lucky to have one,” Eric tells Yahoo Parenting. He says it with a chuckle because now, nearly a decade later, the two men have adopted six kids between the ages of 4 and 12 — many with significant medical issues — and fostered about 30.

“It just felt like it was the right thing for us to do,” explains Eric, who quit his job as a visual merchandising manager 12 years ago to work at a local foster and adoption agency. “And it felt really important to give back in some way to kids who are already here instead of bringing another child into the world.”

They’re still not done giving back, either. The couple is now in the process of adopting yet another foster child, 16-year-old Darnell. And while the teen doesn’t have any of the health challenges faced by his soon-to-be siblings, he is struggling with an issue that his new dads are uniquely qualified to support him through: being gay.

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