Homosexuals should be allowed to adopt in the state of Florida. At least, that was the ruling today as it was referenced at the Third District Court of Appeal in Miami. How it pans out in the long run will depend most likely on the Florida Supreme Court’s ruling down the road. For today, though, let’s celebrate and recall the events leading up to this LGBT victory in the Sunshine State.
The decision was reached after a tenuous lower court system battle in 2008 ruled that the gay adoption ban violated the state constitution's guarantee of equal treatment under the law. Frank Martin Gill was allowed to adopt two boys he had been fostering since 2004.
The Florida Department of Children and Families disagreed with the lower court’s decision in the aforementioned case and sued. They claimed that it was illegal to allow homosexuals the right to adopt children.
Today, the Third District Court of Appeal ruled otherwise. In the ruling, it was stated “that gay people and heterosexuals make equally good parents” and that “given a total ban on adoption by homosexual persons, one might expect that this reflected a legislative judgment that homosexual persons are, as a group, unfit to be parents. No one in this case has made, or even hinted at, any such argument."
The court conducted extensive research with consideration to psychologists, social workers, religious affiliates and other experts to conclude that children raised by homosexual partners were no more likely to become homosexuals themselves. Also, it was found that the children raised in same-sex homes were no more likely to engage in early sexual experimentation, suffer mental illness or abuse narcotics and alcohol any more than their heterosexual counterparts.
The court stated, "It is difficult to see any rational basis in utilizing homosexual persons as foster parents or guardians on a temporary or permanent basis, while imposing a blanket prohibition on adoption by those same persons.”
The ruling can be read in part below:
The question in the case is whether the adoption should have been denied because F.G. is a homosexual. Under Florida law, a homosexual person is allowed to be a foster parent. F.G. has successfully served as a foster parent for the 4 children since 2004. However, Florida law states, “No person eligible to adopt under this statute [the Florida Adoption Act] may adopt if that person is a homosexual.” § 63.042(3), Fla. Stat. (2006). According to the judgment, “Florida
is the only remaining state to expressly ban all gay adoptions without exception.” Judgment at 38. Judge Cindy Lederman, after lengthy hearings, concluded that there is no rational basis for the statute. We agree and affirm the final judgment of adoption.
Read the full ruling here.
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