Gay adoption ban does not preserve "best interests of children," says Florida

Thursday, 27th November 2008

Written by Francesca Cookney

Frank Martin Gill is a gay man from North Miami who will finally be able to adopt the children he's fostered since 2004, thanks to a ruling by judge Cindy S. Lederman of Miami-Dade Circuit Court on Tuesday.

Gay adoption has been illegal in the US state of Florida for over three decades but all that may be about to change. The state is now expected to appeal against the law, taking it to the State Supreme Court. "The best interests of children are not preserved by prohibiting homosexual adoption," said Judge Lederman, arguing that the law violated equal protection rights for children and their prospective parents and as such was "unconstitutional".

Florida is the only state to actively prohibit adoption by gay men or lesbians although states such as Mississippi and Utah manage to do so through laws that ban unmarried couples from adopting. Director of LGBT Advocacy Project of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Robert Rosenwald was one of the lawyers on the case.

For him this represents huge progress for the state. "The court for the first time after hearing all of the evidence determined that [...] there is no dispute that children raised by gay parents fare just as well or better than children raised by straight parents," he said.

But for Mr Gill, it just means that he and his children can now officially call themselves a family. "[We] just got a lot more to be thankful for this Thanksgiving," he told reporters.

Please add your comment here. Your Name *: Email (private) *: Town : Country :

Quick Links