“Explore Adoption” in Florida - unless you’re LGBT
July 22, 2009
Florida’s Governor Charlie Crist declared today, July 22, “Explore Adoption Day” in the state, with the hope of finding families for the 4,500 children and youth in Florida who are awaiting a permanent family. There is one serious problem with this, which is that since 1977 Florida has had a law that bans gays and lesbians from adopting children, and if you are committed to finding the best possible families for children you have to open the door to every possible qualified candidate whether single, married, gay, straight, rich, or poor, and so on. In other words, not all Floridians are truly invited to “explore adoption” today. It is insulting, frankly, to promote an “Explore Adoption Day” when a group of Florida citizens are expressly banned from adopting. It is not only the LGBT community that is insulted by the archaic law in Florida—we are joined, and in many cases led, by child welfare experts and professionals who know from their own experience that lesbians and gay men make great parents. In Florida they know this because we are permitted by law to be foster parents, and many lesbian and gay foster parents are raising and loving their foster children for years with commitment and great success. It is high time to strip away the ban on adoption so that these thriving foster children and youth can have the legal security and permanency they deserve, and so great families can come forward and provide stable, nurturing homes for the thousands of other children in Florida’s child welfare system. Our friends at the Florida group Securing Our Children’s Rights are asking that concerned Floridians take today to let legislative leaders know you support an end to the state’s discriminatory adoption ban. Tell them that “Explore Adoption Day” would be more meaningful if adoption were open to all potential loving parents. House Speaker Larry Cretul 850-488-1450 or 352-873-6564 or email to [email protected] Senate President Jeff Atwater 850-487-5100 or 561-625-5101 or email to [email protected] This post is from Ellen Kahn, director of the HRC Foundation's Family Project.
