Florida Appeals Court Finds Gay Adoption Ban Unconstitutional
by Kemp Brinson
An opinion was released today in the case of Martin Gill, a gay man who sought to adopt two foster children in his care. I have previously blogged about this case. The court found the prohibition on adoption by homosexuals to be unconstitutional.
Document: Opinion
I have not completed a review of the opinion, so I will post more later. The next stop is the Florida Supreme Court, if the Department chooses to appeal.
I don’t think it’s right to ban gay and lesbian couples from fostering or adopting. These kids needs homes and people to love them. I don’t think sexual orientation should play a part in that. I do have a family member that is gay, went through a commitment ceremony, and they adopted twins (boy and girl). They are very loving parents and we all support them. Sexual orientation should not even matter who gets to adopt or not.
I don’t believe that gays should be allowed to adopt or be foster parents and here is why. For decades, the gay and lesbian community has tried (and generally succeeded) to redefine normal behavior. Despite what evidence there is to suggest that being gay is not by choice, I believe it is. Since the beginning of time, being gay was abnormal and generally shunned by society. Now most generally accept as normal for fear of being labeled. (If you disagree with the gay lifestyle you are also labeled racist, sexist, etc) How long will it be before we are told marrying animals is a right, or marrying children is a right, etc? I see this ruling for what it is. By allowing gays to adopt, they can teach their children that their lifestyle is normal and then create a new normal. I believe because of PC, I am being forced to accept what I firmly believe is abnormal as normal. Now I fully expect to be called all kinds of names by those who demand tolerance but fail to show it themselves.
@Jesus – If you were the judge in this case, would you have refused the adoption? This would have the effect of making the kids available for adoption by someone else, which would result in them being taken away from the only real dad they’ve ever had? Remember that everyone conceded that this man was an amazing father to these boys in every way – the only problem being his sexuality. Are you so certain that your view is correct that you would be willing to do that? Even if you think that the kids should not have been placed with this man, do you think they should now be taken away?
@Jesus – If you were the judge in this case, would you have refused the adoption? This would have the effect of making the kids available for adoption by someone else, which would result in them being taken away from the only real dad they’ve ever had? Remember that everyone conceded that this man was an amazing father to these boys in every way – the only problem being his sexuality. Are you so certain that your view is correct that you would be willing to do that? Even if you think that the kids should not have been placed with this man, do you think they should now be taken away?
The children should have never been placed with this “family” in the first place. I don’t think it is “morally” correct to place children with this “family”. Again, the gay community is redefining what is a family. I don’t know the specifics of the case. I think it is a hard thing to take children away from a “dad” that the child has ever known. Being in the foster care system myself, I have found that the system does not take the child’s interests into account but what is best for the “system”. With the government involved in this day and age, the system is more concerned with pushing a specific “progressive” agenda rather than what is actually best for children. I was the lucky one. Based on my christian beliefs, I truly believe parents based on a man and a women is what is best to raise children. I know that I am better for it that my foster parents were a man and a women that instilled christian moral values in me. Because of that, I am a productive member of society. I know that it works because history shows it does.
To answer your questions; At this point, if it is true that this parent is a good parent and it can be proven that the child would be harmed by the child’s removal, then the child should stay with the family. But let me be clear, I don’t trust the system because I believe it is biased towards gays. It does not make sense to have a law that says gays can be foster parents but not adopt. The law has to be clear , one way or the other.
Yes, I know you don’t think that this family should have received these children, but you didn’t answer my question. Having experienced the system yourself, if you were the judge, in THIS case, do you think it is in the best interest of these kids to be adopted by someone else, or stay where they have been for many years?
If you want to know more about the specifics of this case, please read the opinion. It is not all that long, and is linked in the post.
(EDIT: I didn’t see that you had already answered my question with another post when I wrote it.)
“It does not make sense to have a law that says gays can be foster parents but not adopt. The law has to be clear, one way or the other.”
Agreed.