Legal News

Same-Sex Adoption Debate Rages on in Sunshine State

By Dan Slater

Florida, according to Florida’s News-Press, is the only state with an outright ban on gay people adopting children. But the state’s Supreme Court could change that.

Last month, a Miami-Dade judge declared that Florida’s 1977 law violated equal protection rights. “It is clear that sexual orientation is not a predictor of a person’s ability to parent,” Judge Cindy Lederman wrote in a November 25th ruling. “The exclusion causes some children to be deprived of a permanent placement with a family that is best suited to their needs.” Lederman said there is no moral or scientific reason for banning gays and lesbians from adopting, despite the state’s arguments otherwise. Here’s a CNN report on the ruling.

The latest news: Florida will appeal. The state argues that gays and lesbians have higher odds of suffering from depression, affective and anxiety disorders and substance abuse, and that their households are more unstable.

Dennis Baxley, executive director of the Christian Coalition of Florida, maintains allowing gay couples to adopt closes the door on the possibility of finding heterosexual parents, which for him is optimal. “I think it’s more of a political battle than what’s best for the child,” Baxley, who has adopted two children, told the News-Press.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on December 29, 2008 (boomark / email).