FEBRUARY 28.2004 • Q-NOTES
National
15
Florida upholds gay adoption ban
LGBT groups and individuab
express outrage
by Brian Smith
TAMPA, Fla. — Gays and lesbians
nationwide are outraged over a court rul
ing that allows Florida’s gay adoption ban
to continue. LGBT political action group
Equality Florida is calling on the Florida
legislature to repeal Florida’s anti-gay
adoption law.
“This is a terrible decision. The court’s
ruling is not only bad news for gay
Floridians, it is bad news for children who
will be denied good homes,” said Nadine
Smith, executive director for Equality
Florida. “While the legal fight continues to
unfold, we believe it is past time for the
legislature to repeal this state-sanctioned
bigotry.”
Equality Florida and local community
groups across the state are organizing
community meetings and rallies to
respond to a court opinion legal scholars
describe as outrageous and inconsistent.
Four gay foster parents seeking to
adopt children in their care lost a federal
challenge Jan. 27. The ruling by the 11th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allows
Florida to remain the only state with a
complete ban on adoption. The law
passed in 1977 at the height of Anita
Bryant’s anti-homosexual campaign.
Florida argued the state has a right to
legislate its “moral disapproval of homo
sexuality” and its belief that children need
a married parent for healthy development.
That argument contradicts the state’s own
policy that allows gay foster parents and
single parent adoptions.
“If single people can adopt in Florida, if
gay people can be foster parents and legal
guardians and if there are thousands of
children languishing in foster care, there
can be no justification for Florida’s ban on
gay adoptions other than impermissible
prejudice and hostility toward gay people.”
said Howard Simon, executive director of
the Florida ACLU.
The ACLU expects to take a short time
before deciding how to proceed. It could ask
the full appeals court to consider the issue.
Edward Schiappa, a University of
Minnesota law professor who follows
gay issues, believes the case is destined
for Supreme Court review next year. He
believes the state will have a hard time
defending the law there because of its
inconsistent policy allowing gay foster
parents while banning gay adoptive
parents.
The Family Pride Coalition also
expressed their deep disappointment with
the ruling in the Florida adoption case.
“This decision is a crushing blow, not
only to the plaintiff families, but to gay and
lesbian parents all over the country,” said.
Aimee Gelnaw, executive director of the
Family Pride Coalition. “The judges in this
case didn’t just rule against gay dads and
lesbian moms. They ruled against every
gay and lesbian person in Florida who has
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considered adoption, but thought it
not possible in their home state.
They ruled against existing gay- or
lesbian-headed families in Florida
where only one parent has legal ties
to their children, leaving countless
numbers of families vulnerable.
They ruled against thousands and
thousands of Florida children who
need stable and loving homes. It is
appalling, unconscionable and even
negligent to turn their backs on the
thousands of children in Florida who
need loving homes such as the ones
provided for years by these plaintiff
families.”
“We are living in dangerous
times,” said Rosie O’Donnell, who,
along with her partner, Kelli, is a
member and supporter of the Family Pride
Coalition. O’Donnell has been a vitally
important spokesperson against the
Florida ban, coming out in a 2002
“Primetime Live” interview to shed light on
the case. “The struggle for civil rights con
tinues. It is my hope this case will be
heard by the Supreme Court, where this
absurd discriminatory decision will be
reversed. What a sad day for all
Americans.”
Matt Coles, the director of the ACLU’s
Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, has stated
that the ACLU intends to do all it can to
make sure none of the children involved in
this case are removed from their homes,
and will explore the available legal options
Rosie
O'Donnell: 'We ore living in dangerous times.'
for this case.
The Human Rights Campaign also
issued a statement voicing their displeas
ure with the ruling.
“Anyone who truly cares about chil
dren knows that subjecting them to a
scries of temporary homes and no real
sense of family cannot possibly be in their
best interest, especially when there are
loving and capable same-sex parents
ready to open their homes and hearts to
them,” said HRC President Cheryl Jacques.
“This ruling places a higher premium on
antiquated and discriminatory assump
tions about gay and lesbian people than
on the best interests of the state’s children
and families.”
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