Judge in Miami Rules Against State Gay Adoption Ban

In the wake of a massive media frenzy over the adoption of Proposition 8 in California, which banned same-sex marriage throughout that state, a Miami judge ruled yesterday that a 31-year-old Florida law that prohibits gay people from adopting children is unconstitutional. Judge Cindy Lederman, in a 53-page ruling, indicated that the state’s argument that "there is a supposed dark cloud hovering over homes of homosexuals and their children" didn’t carry water. Lederman noted, "there is no rational basis to prohibit gay parents from adopting."

Throughout the nation, there are only a few laws on the books regarding adoption by gay people and couples, most notably in Arkansas, where a bill passed last month that bans both unmarried straight and gay couples from adopting and in Utah, where such a law has been in effect for some time. In Mississippi, gay couples are prohibited from adopting, but single gays are under no such restrictions. Florida remains the only state in the U.S. with an outright ban on adoption by gay people.

Lederman’s ruling came in a case brought by Martin Gill and his male partner, who wish to adopt two brothers, both of whom the couple has cared for since 2004. Said Gill of the ruling, "I’ve never seen myself as less than anybody else. We’re very grateful. Today, I’ve cried the first tears of joy in my life." Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) represented Gill. Among the comments by Lederman in her lengthy ruling: "It is clear that sexual orientation is not a predictor of a person’s ability to parent. A child in need of love, safety and stability does not first consider the sexual orientation of his parent. The exclusion causes some children to be deprived of a permanent placement with a family that is best suited to their needs."