Miami Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman ruled Tuesday there was “no rational basis” for prohibiting gays from adopting children. Openly gay father Martin Gill will be able to keep custody of the two foster children he has cared for since 2004. The state will appeal the decision.
Gill took two half-brothers into his North Miami home after a child abuse investigator asked for his help. While the arrangement was supposed to be temporary, the state was unable to place the children elsewhere and Gil became their de facto guardian.
When Gill petitioned to adopt the children, the state, which has one of the strictest anti-gay adoption laws of the country, hauled Mr. Gill to court.
While Florida allows same-sex couples to foster children, it doesn’t allow them to adopt. Today’s decision overturns that law for now, but the ultimate fate of the Gill family remains up in the air until the appeal is settled.
“No Rational Basis”– You mean it makes no sense that the state would allow gay people to take care of foster kids for years at a time as their legal guardian but prevent them from adopting those kids? “No Rational Basis”. Yeah, that sounds about right. In fact, “no rational basis” nicely sums up the entire argument against giving gays and lesbians the same rights as straight people, be it the right to adopt or the right to marry.
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At what point does “You can foster the kid, but you can’t adopt” or “You can be in a union, but you can not marry” stop being treated like justifiable arguments and more like the homophobic semantics designed to deprive citizens of equal rights that they are? Well, in Florida, on at least one issue, that answer is “Today.”
Kid A
AMAZING!!! This is very, very good.
brandon
thank god for sane people like Cindy
Trenton
Woooooo! Best news I’ve heard all week.
ajax
Well, at least three people in Florida have something for which they’ll be truly thankful this Thursday. I hope it is the first of many thankful days and years for Mr. Gill and his sons.
Alexa
Thank you, Judge Lederman. Let’s hope the state’s appeal fails.
Woof
Level heads prevail.
Joe Moag
This is so great to hear! And so great for kids who need homes with love!
ILOVEZ
A M A Z I N G!!!!! Finally one great news!!!
Jaroslaw
Has the state appealed? I would think they would be to embarrassed to appeal. And if they have money to waste on this, I assume all other necessary things in Florida are funded 100%?
RichardR
How soon do you think the O’Limbaughty’s will start hollering “activist judge” about Ms. Lederman?
Right, fellas, it’s better to destroy a family than allow gays to adopt.
I think the phrase “no rational basis” should become our t-shirt and signage slogan, and it’d make a good rally chant, too.
Alexa
@Jaroslaw:
According to the link, the state will appeal. Assholes.
gaycurmudgeon
Are you listening, Arkansas?
Charles J. Mueller
@Alexa:
This is all the State has do with the taxpayers money?
As if there were not more pressing issues to deal with?
Assholes. I am beginning to hate this backward, redneck state.
David
This is very good news….someone finally thinking about the welfare of the children.
The state said it would appeal….if they lose that he comes another peoples vote on a constitutional amendment to discriminate gay people…..
michael
A lot of people think that Florida is one of our more “fabulous” states because of the sunshine, South Beach etc. No its not, its
Mississippi with the exception of the very southern tip. It is redneck, white trash and backward. Its an awful place actually and will take the courts to change anything down there, but if the voters can vote to keep it ignorant then they will.
Puddy Katz
It is evil to break up this family.
Steve
Of course, the state will appeal. The government administrators in Florida, and even most the locals in Miami, are social conservatives.
But that isn’t the basis on which an appeal has to be argued. The appeal has to argue that there is a “rational basis” for the statute, based on the evidence submitted at trial.
The court found lots of evidence that the statute is not rational. And, the state’s two expert witnesses were both pretty thoroughly discredited. The fact that Florida allows gay people to be foster parents pretty well nails it down — if there were any rational basis to keep children out of gay households, they could not allow gays as foster parents.
And, an appeals court will very reluctant to reverse an adoption, because that reversal itself would harm the children.
Willie Hewes
The good news keeps on coming. I want to read the decision for this, it’s always great fun when judges lay the smack down on hateful nonsense.
No Rational Basis.