Gay Adoption Debated In Florida Senate

For the first time in 33 years, yesterday the issue of gay adoption was debated on the floor of the Florida Senate. Florida is the only state with a specific prohibition on gay adoption. Two legislators attempted to attach amendments legalizing gay adoption to a bill that would ban restrictions on adoption for people with guns in their homes, but were forced to withdraw them when a ruling was made that the issue wasn't germane.

Senate President Jeff Atwater allowed Democrats to talk about repealing the state’s gay adoption ban during the afternoon session today. Sen. Nan Rich has tried and failed for the past four years to have her bills that would do away with Florida’s 33-year-old prohibition against gay couples or individuals adopting. But today, Atwater allowed Sen. Charlie Justice to offer an amendment on a bill that would prohibit adoption agencies from discriminating against gun owners. Justice’s amendment proposed a similar prohibition for discrimination based on sexual orientation. “Whether a person owns a gun or not has no bearing on his or her ability to be a loving parent,” Rich, D-Weston, said. The ban on gay adoption is a “far graver inequality,” she said, and is “a law grounded on fear and ignorance rather than in sound public policy.” Gay couples are allowed to be foster parents but are barred from permanently adopting the children. More than 3,000 Florida kids are waiting to be adopted and about 25,000 of them live in foster care.

Here's a portion of the debate.

(Via - Think Progress)