Fair Adoption in Florida

It’s usually taken for granted that if a stable, loving couple or single person wants to adopt a child that they will be able to do so. Not so in Florida, the only state to specifically prohibit the adoption of children by same-sex couples or gay individuals.

People gathered today in Tallahassee for Fair Adoption Lobby Day, and to show their support of a bill that would allow children in need of forever families the chance to be adopted by gay parents. The bill does not lift the ban entirely, but offers the compromise that a judge could decide on a case-by-case basis whether to award adoptive custody to a gay parent if doing so is in the best interest of the child. This would not just affect foster parents (gay people in Florida can become foster parents) but partners who seek adoptive custody after a biological parent passes away, or a gay grandparent who wants to adopt a grandchild.

The bill’s sponsor, Mary Brandenburg, D-West Palm Beach, sees non-traditional loving families as a better alternative to state care. Do you agree?

[News-press.com]