Topeka ? One of the main ministers who succeeded in getting Kansas to approve a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage said Tuesday that he opposes allowing gays to adopt.

“I would certainly prefer gays and lesbians not being able to adopt,” said Pastor Terry Fox of the Immanuel Baptist Church in Wichita.

But Fox said he has not gotten involved yet in the adoption issue that has arisen before the Kansas Legislature.

Under Kansas law, homosexual adults are neither restricted nor prohibited from adopting children.

But Rep. Steve Huebert, R-Valley Center, has requested lawmakers study the issue because he said a constituent of his was concerned that a lesbian couple might be allowed to adopt her granddaughter, who was in foster care.

Legislative leaders have assigned the topic to a House-Senate committee for study.

Fox, along with another conservative minister from Wichita, the Rev. Joe Wright, flexed his political muscle earlier this year when he brought pressure to bear on the Legislature to adopt a constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriage.

• Adoption policies set for review (07-19-05)
• Legislator questions adoption by gays (07-14-05)
• Sebelius not warm to banning gay adoption (04-09-05)
• Marriage amendment raises adoption concerns (04-08-05)
• Federal courts likely to overturn state’s constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage, supporter says (04-07-05)
• On the Street: Do you think the state should also prohibit gays from adopting? (04-07-05)

The Legislature approved the measure, and voters passed it overwhelmingly in April.

Fox and Wright have congregations with several thousand members and host a popular Christian radio show.

Fox said he hasn’t gotten involved yet in the adoption issue, but added “it would be something we’d watch with interest.”

He said that currently he is more involved with efforts to change the operation of the Kansas Supreme Court, which, he said, overstepped its authority in the recent school finance lawsuit.

In June, the court ruled the Legislature had failed to provide enough funds to maintain a constitutional school finance system, and ordered lawmakers to increase funding.

Lawmakers complied, but many conservatives have said they would fight for proposals to either change the way justices are selected or to rein in the court’s authority.

Meanwhile, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius reiterated her position on gay adoption, stating that she would not want to prevent a parentless child from being placed with loving adults.