I can be Father but not Husband....

Once Again, Florida's Anti-gay Adoption Ban Ruled "Unconstitutional"


For the second time this year, a Florida Circuit Court Judge has ruled that Florida’s 30-year-old adoption ban is unconstitutional.

Today, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman declared Florida's anti-gay adoption ban unconstitutional. In the 53-page ruling, Judge Lederman said, "It is clear that sexual orientation is not a predictor of a person's ability to parent.''

As a result of today’s ruling, Frank Gill, a gay man from North Miami, will move forward with the adoption of his two foster sons, 8 and 4 year-old half brothers, whom he has raised since 2004.

Gill was represented by the ACLU of Florida while the Florida Attorney General's Office, representing the Department of Children and Families, opposed the adoption. Representatives of the Attorney General said they would file an appeal.

This past September, Florida Circuit Court Judge David J. Audlin Jr. also ruled Florida's infamous, anti-gay adoption ban "unconstitutional."

In his ruling, Judge Audlin said the ban violates the Constitution's separation of powers by preventing decisions from being made on a case-by-case basis, and for the betterment of each child. He added that the ban contradicts state law by singling out one group for punishment. Most importantly, Judge Audlin declared that this adoption was clearly in the child's best interest.

The adopted 13 year-old, who also has special needs and learning disabilities, has been raised in Key West by his openly gay foster parent since 2001 when the Department of Children and Families placed him there. Social work studies highly recommended the adoption, stating it was a "loving and nurturing home" with fair discipline and financial security. The boy has also testified at a recent hearing himself, saying that he wants the man to be his "forever father."

Equality Florida has been working with our legislative allies in Tallahassee for the past 3 year to undo the harm caused by Florida’s anti-gay adoption ban. We are working toward the day when "best interest of the child" is the only criteria judges use to place children in loving, nurturing homes.

Today's ruling adds one more crack to the crumbling, bigoted foundation on which Florida's disgraceful, 30-year-old anti-gay adoption ban rests.

Down with Straighty

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Can we all please learn something with these words..

Repeal Prop 2

What ever your personal beliefs may be, please don't let discrimination be part of who we all are as Floridians. Every human is entitled to the same rights no matter color, gender, or sexual orientation.

Its sad the more I read the less I think people really understand what just happened. Don't be fooled, reversing prop 2 doesn't mean gay's can get married, It protects everyones rights when they are not married, domestic partnerships, common-law commitments are a few common terms that this covers, way more then just gay marriage or gay rights.

Please education yourself, don't be fooled by the wording they have used to make this a "gay" issue, as it is so not. There are so many more straight's hurt by this then it could the homosexual community.

Read, Watch the videos included, educate yourselves, so that you can help educate others.

We all need to support one another and not allow Discrimination in our State, in our Country, on this Planet!

Peace,
Jeremy

Im being Pissy

I'm totally outraged that No on 2 didn't go the way it should have.

I can't believe that in the year 2008 there are still people who are so uneducated, unsocialized, and plain ignorant to what
equality and freedom for all really means.

If the argument is still the Sexuality is a choice then I argue then that no one should have the rights of marriage..

Do you choose to be born - NO
Do you choose the color of your eyes or hair - NO
Do you choose the color of your skin- NO
Do you choose to be male or female - NO

These are all things predesigned by your DNA and chemical makeup provided by your parents.

Do you choose to be Straight or Gay - I think NO same as above its not a choice you are given, you just are...

If you believe that Sexuality is a choice then I challenge you to prove you are Straight... If it is a choice then you can choose to someday "switch" therefore you can not prove you are straight...

Making laws that prevent people from something everyone else is entitled to based on sexuality is the same as being racist!

WHAT IS AMENDMENT 2?
What the Amendment Says
Amendment 2

"Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."

What is Marriage?
Marriage is a social, religious, spiritual, or legal union of individuals. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding and the married status created is sometimes called wedlock.
Marriage is an institution in which interpersonal relationships (usually intimate and sexual) are acknowledged by religious authority and state. It is often viewed as a contract. "Civil marriage" is the legal concept of marriage as a governmental institution, in accordance with marriage laws of the jurisdiction. If recognized by the religion(s) to which the parties belong or by society and state, in general, the act of marriage changes the personal and social status of the individuals who enter into it.


Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791. Note

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

- Does this not mean you can not pass law based on religious belief? If Marriage is moreover a religious belief, then how can a state say someone is not entitled to this right if they so desire it?

The intolerance of our young nations bafills me sometimes. How can something as simple as what one my choose to do in their bedroom still matter to so many people.
Have we learned nothing of our raciest past when we once were so close-minded to sex, color, and religion.

We are a nation of progress, change, and tolerance when it comes every aspect of life, yet for some reason we are still socially and sexually retarded when it comes to the rights of HUMAN BEINGS overall.

I plead for someone to explain to me how this aspect of being a human is different then any other human when it comes down to all are created equally.
Does the 14th amendment not apply to all? The states exclusion of homosexuals is NOT okay.. The amendment requires states to provide equal protection under the law to ALL persons within their jurisdictions and was used in the mid-20th century to dismantle racial segregation in the United States, as in Brown v. Board of Education. Its Due Process Clause has been the basis of much important and controversial case law regarding privacy rights, abortion (see Roe v. Wade), and other issues.

How is man women, black white, straight gay different under these terms?
I simply fail to see how this aspect is different then the others....