Fla. Appeals Court Strikes Down Gay Adoption Ban
A Florida appeals court has approved a gay lawyer’s adoption plans in an opinion striking down the state’s ban on homosexual adoptions.
The court ruled in an adoption case brought by lawyer Frank Martin Gill, the Associated Press and the Miami Herald report. Gill and his partner wanted to adopt two half-brothers they had been raising in foster care.
The 3rd District Court of Appeal found a violation of the state constitution’s equal protection clause. In its opinion (PDF), the court said the law could not be justified, given agreement by both parties in the case that gay people and heterosexuals make equally good parents. The court noted that gays are allowed to be foster parents but not adoptive parents, and said it is difficult to see any rational basis for the distinction.
Hat tip to How Appealing.
