Florida Court Strikes Down State Ban on Gay Adoptive Parents

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman has struck down Florida’s ban on the adoption of children by gay people. She found that the law was unconstitutional given the absence of any legal or scientific reason that sexual orientation should be the basis for such a prohibition.

Noting that gay people could be foster parents in the state, the Court rejected the suggestion by the state that there was “a supposed dark cloud hovering over homes of homosexuals and their children.”
The law failed even the lowest rational basis test, the court ruled.

Notably, Arkansas voters last month approved a measure similar to a law in Utah that bans any unmarried straight or gay couples from adopting or fostering children. Conversely, Mississippi bans gay couples, but not single gays, from adopting.

The Florida case saw a clash of experts on the fitness of gay couples to adopt.

The ruling is a victory for Martin Gill, 54, and his partner who wanted to adopt two brothers, ages 4 and 8, that have been their foster children since December 2004.

For a copy of the ruling, click here.

For the full story, click here.