Adoption Ban Illegal - Commentary From Howard Simon

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Published on Tuesday, 02 December 2008

Written by Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald

A letter from Howard Simon, Executive Director, ACLU Florida

Dear friend,

We at the ACLU of Florida want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving and thank you for your invaluable support in these quickly changing times. Your continued support is deeply appreciated.

In the world of civil liberties defense, we sometimes are forced to take one step back for every two steps forward. Although we had a devastating defeat just three weeks ago with the passage of Amendment 2, we have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving as well.

This week, we are exceedingly thankful that Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman ruled that Florida's antiquated and discriminatory ban on adoption by gays and lesbians is unconstitutional. Martin Gill of North Miami was permitted to adopt two brothers, ages four and eight, who have lived in the Gill family home for four years as foster children.

Florida's statute is the only law in the country that bans any gay or lesbian from adopting, although there are no restrictions on gay or lesbian foster parents. With over 3,000 children drowning in the state's foster care system, the time to open the doors to allow these children the chance to grow up in a loving home has arrived.

Not surprisingly, immediately following Tuesday's decision, the state appealed the decision that we secured for Martin. The ACLU of Florida LGBT Advocacy Project, led by Robert Rosenwald and Shelbi Day along with the staff attorneys of our national ACLU LGBT Project stand ready to march all the way to the Florida Supreme Court to strike down the 30-year-old law that has been on Florida books since the rampage that Anita Bryant ran on LGBT rights in the late 1970s. The law is based on animus and bigotry masquerading as social science.

We've come so far in such a short amount of time and paving the road is not always easy. We are in the midst of the civil rights movement of the 21st century, bring equality to all people. A recent online poll conducted by The Miami Herald shows that the overwhelming majority of their readers agree that the children should be adopted by Martin Gill in whose care the court believes the children to be thriving, and that gays and lesbians should be able to adopt.

The time for change is here, and we continue to march forward -- sometimes two steps at a time, sometimes one step back, but always with a thirst for defending the rights and liberties guaranteed to us by the U.S. and Florida Constitutions.

It is easy to look back, for example, on the separate "colored" and "white" water fountains of decades ago and proclaim them to be symbols of discrimination and offensive bigotry. It is harder and it requires both understanding and courage to recognize discrimination and do something about it when you are in the middle of the fight . . . not with the luxury of 40 years hindsight.

From all of us here at the ACLU of Florida, I wish you a very happy and safe Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones.

Sincerely,

Howard L. Simon, Ph.D.
Executive Director
American Civil Liberties Union of Florida