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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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Judge Nixes Fla. Ban on Gay Adoption

State plans to appeal ruling against 30-year-old measure

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(Newser) – A Miami circuit judge sparked a constitutional showdown by ruling today against Florida’s 30-year-old ban on gay adoption, rebutting claims that homosexuals suffer more from mental illness and substance abuse. The attorney general’s office plans to appeal the decision, which allows a Miami man to adopt two foster kids he and his partner have been raising since 2004, the Herald reports.

In today’s ruling, Judge Cindy Lederman scoured decades of psychological research to show sexual orientation is “not a predictor of a person's ability to parent.” And with Florida suffering a shortage of foster and adoptive families, “there is no question the blanket exclusion of gay applicants defeats Florida's goal of providing children a permanent family through adoption,” Lederman wrote.

Partners Rob Flint and Kevin Burns play with their 5-month-old adopted daughter Autumn Hope. Florida has had a ban on gay adoption for 30 years.
Partners Rob Flint and Kevin Burns play with their 5-month-old adopted daughter Autumn Hope. Florida has had a ban on gay adoption for 30 years.   (Getty Images)
Massachusetts delegates hold their adopted baby daughter on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004.
Massachusetts delegates hold their adopted baby daughter on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004.   (Getty Images)
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Based on the evidence presented from experts from all over this country and abroad, it is clear that sexual orientation is not a predictor of a person's ability to parent. - Judge Cindy Lederman

It results in more children being left without any parents at all. They don't have a mom or a dad. - Frank Gill, gay foster parent

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2 comments
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iamthereama
Nov 28, 08 12:08 AM CST
Good! I have friends raised by gay and lesbian parents and I can assure you they are just fine. Reply
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charliedoodle
Dec 1, 08 1:58 PM CST
I was adopted, so I don't think of much their ban in the first place. What might help? Maybe JUST listening to the people that this law will actually AFFECT. Go ahead; ask a kid if he/she wants their own home if their parents are gay. Guaranteed the kid would wonder why the subject even came up. Makes me wonder too....... Reply
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