Gay adoption a go for Florida

Quote

A Miami judge ruled Tuesday that there is no rational, scientific or moral reason that sexual orientation should be a barrier to adopting children, finalizing the adoption of two siblings by their gay foster father.

After 58 hearings, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman said she had no doubts about her decision, which sets the stage for a legal battle that could go to the state Supreme Court. "I know this family fairly well. These children are thriving," she said, declaring in a 53-page judgment that the 8- and 4-year-old brothers would be the legal children of Martin Gill, a gay man from North Miami.

Gill, 47, was elated. "Today, I've cried my first tears of joy in my life," he said after the ruling. "Our family just got a lot more to be thankful for this Thanksgiving."

In her ruling, Lederman said the ban against adoptions by gay people violated the state's equal protection guarantees by singling them out. She noted that the state of Florida permits gay people to serve as foster parents to its most fragile citizens — children who have been abused, neglected or abandoned.

Lederman said there is consensus among researchers that there is no reason to prohibit adoptions by gay people.

"Based on the evidence presented from experts from all over this country and abroad, it is clear that sexual orientation is not a predictor of a person's ability to parent," Lederman wrote in her order. "Sexual orientation no more leads to psychiatric disorders, alcohol and substance abuse, relationship instability, a lower life expectancy or sexual disorders than race, gender, socioeconomic class or any other demographic characteristic."

In addition, the court ruled that the ban denied the children the right to permanency under state law. The biological parents' rights were terminated in 2006, and the children had lived with Gill and his partner for more than four years.

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Good to see some sense is winning out the day in some places. bunny

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Topic: Gay adoption a go for Florida

BerberElla

OP - December 03, 2008, 08:17 PM

zomzom

Reply #1 - December 03, 2008, 11:48 PM

Baal

Reply #2 - December 04, 2008, 02:08 AM

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