Florida Gay Adoption Ban is ruled...UNCONSTITUTIONAL

[ansar]

<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/26/us/26florida.html?_r=1[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/26/us/26florida.html?_r=1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

MIAMI — A Florida law that has banned adoptions by gay men and lesbians for over three decades is unconstitutional, a judge here ruled on Tuesday.</p>

<p>“The best interests of children are not preserved by prohibiting homosexual adoption,” the judge, Cindy S. Lederman of Miami-Dade Circuit Court, said in a 53-page decision. She said the law violated equal protection rights for children and their prospective parents.</p>

<p>A spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office said the state would appeal, and the case is likely to end up before the State Supreme Court.</p>

<p>Florida is the only state with a law prohibiting gay men and lesbians — couples and individuals — from adopting children. The Legislature voted to prohibit adoptions by gay men and lesbians in 1977, in the midst of a campaign led by the entertainer Anita Bryant to repeal a gay rights ordinance adopted by Dade County.</p>

<p>In 2005, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to the Florida law.</p>

<p>Some states, like Mississippi and Utah, effectively bar adoptions by same-sex couples through laws that prohibit adoption by unmarried couples. Arkansas voters passed a similar measure this month.</p>

<p>The ruling on Tuesday will allow Frank Martin Gill, 47, a gay man from North Miami, to adopt two foster children whom he has raised since 2004. “Our family just got a lot more to be thankful for this Thanksgiving,” Mr. Gill said in a news release issued by the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented him.</p>

<p>Robert Rosenwald, director of the LGBT Advocacy Project of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and one of the lawyers on the case, said, “The case means that these two boys won’t be torn from the only home that they’ve ever known,” said.</p>

<p>The state presented experts who argued that there was a higher incidence of drug and alcohol abuse among same-sex couples, that their relationships were less stable than those of heterosexuals, and that their children suffered a societal stigma.</p>

<p>But lawyers for Mr. Gill presented evidence contradicting those contentions, which Judge Lederman found persuasive.</p>

<p>“It is clear that sexual orientation is not a predictor of a person’s ability to parent,” she wrote.</p>

<p>Mr. Rosenwald called the decision a huge victory for gay and lesbian parents and for almost 1,000 children in Florida waiting to be adopted.</p>

<p>“The court for the first time after hearing all of the evidence determined that the scientific evidence is crystal clear,” he said. “There is no dispute that children raised by gay parents fare just as well or better than children raised by straight parents.”

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<p>Enjoy.</p>

[mephist0]

<p>Activist judge, liberal agenda, immoral lifestyle, unfair to the kids, bad guidance/example, etc etc</p>

[jaimeastorga2000]

<p>I hope the State Supreme Court will uphold this decision, should the case end there.</p>

<p>@mephist0: “Activist judge” and “liberal agenda” are probably true, but “immoral lifestyle,” “unfair to the kids,” and “bad guidance/example?” Lol wut?</p>

[Alexandre]

<p>Isn’t it a little presumptious to assume that just because a couple is gay, it is unable to raise a child properly and give them the love and support required to make them a productive member of society. Last time I checked, homosexuality was not a desease, nor was it contagious.</p>

[AKiss20]

<p>No lets completely ignore the fact that the judge had a 53 page opinion that clearly worked through the legal aspects of adoption. Lets ignore the fact that she had tens to hundreds of hours of scientific testimony all affirming the idea that the ability of a parent is based not on his sexuality. Yup total activist judge, what was she thinking, using the law like that? Science? Pssh total liberal fest. We need to go back to the ole’ gun tootin’ days when them queers knew their place</p>

<p>(In case it was not incredibly obvious, this was satire)</p>

[Tyler09]

<p>Children raised by black parents have a much higher chance of going to prison, should black couples be allowed to adopt children?</p>

[kwu]

<p>satire</p>

<p>Sarcasm. Sarcasm.</p>

[AKiss20]

<p>Satire: Irony, sarcasm, or caustic wit used to attack or expose folly, vice, or stupidity.</p>

<p>Thanks, can we get back to the topic at hand?</p>