FLORIDA: New Gay Families Flourish After Lifting Of Adoption Ban

Fort Lauderdale's Sun-Sentinel reports on the environment for Florida's gay families since the lifting of the state's ban on adoptions.

For 33 years, Florida barred gays and lesbians from adopting. That changed last October, when Florida's Third District Court of Appeal in Miami ruled the law unenforceable and the state declined to challenge it. Since then, family law attorneys estimate more than 100 men and women in South Florida's gay and lesbian community have pending adoption cases. "The phones have been ringing off the hook,'' said family law attorney Elizabeth Schwartz, of Miami. "It's been 33 years of pent up desire,'' she said.

After the October decision, the state removed the question of sexual orientation from its application form, although the ban remains on the books and could be challenged down the road. At the Foster and Adoptive Parent Association of Palm Beach County, Executive Director Marie Bond said "we're definitely seeing more families,'' from the gay and lesbian community. Victor Martin, 49, a single gay man, adopted his 21-month-old daughter in December and said he couldn't imagine what his life would be like without her.

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