In the current political climate, the issue of child adoption by gay or lesbian couples is at the center of a heated debate. Public attitudes towards this topic are varied, but at the heart of the matter is contention over the welfare of children involved and the perception that same-sex parents cannot provide the same nurturing environment as more traditional family structures. Through an analysis of data gathered from a recent nationwide Internet survey of 1,500 American adults, this study mainly seeks to understand the triadic relationships between (1) more intrinsic moral predispositions, (2) affect heuristics, and (3) perceived risks associated with gay and lesbian parenting among the general public, while considering other factors claimed by previous literature concerning public attitude formation (e.g., political beliefs, religious beliefs, experiential sophistication and demographic characteristics). Analytical results suggest that both cultural biases and affective heuristic toward same sex couples impinge upon individuals’ judgments concerning threat and risk associated with gay and lesbian parenting, while more enduring and long-lasting cultural orientations have bearings on more visceral and ephemeral affective feelings. We conclude this paper by discussing policy ramifications of these findings.