Experts clash on gays' bids to adopt children

Miami Herald by Carol Marbin Miller | Nov. 17, 2008 (News Report)

Dueling social-science testimony marked a trial over a gay North Miami man's petition to adopt his two foster children.

The judge's ruling will determine whether a 4-year-old boy and his 8-year-old brother can be adopted by Frank Gill, the North Miami foster parent who has raised the boys for four years, and his partner. Lederman said she will decide on the adoption later this month.

Florida is the only state that bans all gay people from adopting. This fall, a Circuit Court judge in Key West declared Florida's ban unconstitutional, although the decision is ... Full Story »

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by Beth Wellington - Nov. 18, 2008

I applaud the reporter for getting a copy of the transcript and reporting on this closed hearing. I would have liked a link to the transcript so that I could have had access to more than was provided in this article. I would have liked a summary of the legal grounds argued to reverse the law. (And to reverse the prior court ruling upholding the law--see Lofton ruling to which I''ve linked. ) I would have liked some statistics on gay adoptions in other states, but according to an earlier USA Today article (see link) state and federal governments don't keep such statistics. The census, however, has been studied by Gary Gates at UCLA, who found that "An estimated one in four same-sex couple households report children under age 18 living in the home. Same-sex couples with children often live in states and large metropolitan areas not known for large gay and lesbian communities." (From The Gay and Lesbian Atlas, by Gary J. Gates and Jason Ost, Urban Institute Press, May 2004.) (see link for fact sheet) Of course, "The United States Census is counting same-sex couples, although in an oblique way. The form asked the sex and relationship to the "main householder" according to Gay Demographics. http://www.gaydemographics.org/USA/USA.htm And finally, I would have liked a bit of context on the efforts to outlaw gay adoption in other states. Utah, Mississippi and now Arkansas (which also bans foster parting in a consitututional amendment passed November 4 election 57 to 43%) have bans and there have been attempts in over a dozen other states including Ohio, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, , Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, and West Virginia. (see links)

The law, in banning all gays from adopting, does a disservice to both the potential parents and children and seems to violate the equal protection, relying on the "best interest of the child" standard for only certain segments of the population. I'm not sure what "fair" means in evaluating an article like this. The author has citing extensively from those who argued against gay adoption and provided a rebuttal. But can one be free from favoritism in covering material like this?

Gill, 47, never set out to challenge Florida’s controversial adoption law, which allows drug abusers and felons to adopt but imposes a blanket ban on gay people. But in December 2004, a DCF abuse investigator asked Gill and his 34-year-old partner to care for two half-brothers for a few months while their parents tried to regain custody. It became clear within months that the boys’ parents would never be able to win back the right to raise them — their parental rights were terminated in 2006 — and an early plan for the boys to live with a grandmother fell through. Eventually, child-welfare administrators acknowledged that the boys were thriving in Gill’s home, and they have made no attempts to move them. When Gill petitioned to adopt, administrators said they would have approved the request, but state law doesn’t allow it.