Florida Rules Against Gay Adoption Ban
November 25, 2008 by James Hipps · Leave a Comment
A Miami Dade Circuit judge has ruled that a gay man and his partner should be able to adopt the two foster children they have been raising for four years.
Circuit Judge Cindy S. Lederman stated, “These children are thriving. These words we don’t often hear within these walls. That’s uncontroverted.”
The judge added, “They’re a good family. They’re a family in every way except in the eyes of the law. These children have a right to permanancy. The only real permanancy is adoption in the home where they are thriving.” Lederman continued by saying, “There is no rational basis to preclude homosexuals from adopting.”
In 2004, the state encouraged Gill and his male partner to provide a foster home for two boys. Gill wants to become their adopted father.
“Today I’ve cried my first tears of joy in my life,” said Gill, 47, a flight attendant who lives in North Miami. “We are elated.” Gill added: “I wasn’t here to make history. I was here to do the best thing for a 4- and an 8-year-old.”
A lawyer from the Attorney General’s Office, who is representing the state Department of Children and Families, said the case would be appealed.
Some states, such as Mississippi and Utah, prevent gays from adopting by using laws that prohibit unmarried couples from adopting. But Florida expressly targeted gays with its 1977 law, enacted during Miss America runner-up Anita Bryant’s anti-homosexual crusade.
Florida Statute 63.042 states: “No person eligible to adopt under this statute may adopt if that person is a homosexual.” They can be state-appointed foster parents. They can be named permanent guardians. But adoption is not allowed.
Gill’s attorney, Robert Rosenwald of the ACLU, said an appeals court and the possibly the Florida Supreme Court would be asked to address the ban on gay adoption.
The state made has fought hard to keep adoption illegal by gay parents. They used every repulsive and discredited tactic they could to justify a blanket ban on adoption by gay people and no one else. Gay people, Florida says, are “more prone to alcohol and drug abuse, are more likely to be depressed and suicidal, and are more likely to have unstable relationships. We, the state insists, are more likely to engage in domestic violence, and our children are more likely to be gay and to be psychologically damaged by abuse from people who are homophobic.”
Makes me wonder who the homophobic ones really are?
