TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

End Hypocritical Gay Adoption Ban

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 15, 2008

A 52-year old gay man and permanent guardian of his 13-year-old foster son last week won the right to adopt the boy, despite a Florida law banning adoptions by homosexuals.

Monroe County Circuit Judge David Audlin ruled the ban is unconstitutional and said adoption is "in the best interest of the child." The decision, which is binding only in Audlin's court, should nevertheless help convince lawmakers that it's time to change the law.

Florida's law is the only one in the nation that explicitly excludes gay men and women from adopting. Utah allows only married couples to adopt and the state doesn't recognize gay marriages. Mississippi bans adoptions by couples of the same gender but not by gay individuals.

But a policy like Florida's that allows gays to bring foster children into their homes yet denies them the right to adopt makes no sense and is blatantly hypocritical.
Circuit judges have twice before found the gay adoption ban unconstitutional. Whether the law is indeed unconstitutional - and appellate courts have said it is not - the Legislature should get rid of it.

Lawmakers have introduced legislation before to let a judge decide whether a child living in foster care with a gay adult could benefit from adoption. That is precisely what Audlin did.

Adoption is necessarily a difficult and discriminating process. Children who are wards of the state must be protected, so Florida requires rigorous investigation of any home where its children may be placed.

The moment an adoption is completed, the state loses that oversight.

We don't know how many homosexuals want to become adoptive parents, but those who have proved themselves to be exemplary foster parents in the eyes of the child and a judge should have that chance.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT