MAY 5, 1995

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Florida upholds lesbian and gay adoption ban

by Bill Bergstrom

Tallahassee, Fla. —Saying it wasn't proven that gay couples make bad parents, the Florida Supreme Court ordered a new hearing for a Sarasota gay man who is challenging a law that forbids gays from adopting children. But the ruling left largely intact a ban on gay adoptions.

Florida and New Hampshire are the only two states that specifically ban adoptions by lesbians or gay men.

"This law was enacted during the anti-gay crusade in the 1970s,” Marc Elovitz, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney representing James W. Cox, said April 27.

"We now have 20 more years of experience and social research that proves that gay people make good parents."

The justices said Sarasota County Circuit Court must hear more evidence to decide whether excluding gays as adoptive parents violates their state constitutional guarantees of equal protection under the law.

Cox, 32, a professional pianist, and his partner, Rodney M. Jackman, 28, a state Department of Revenue collection specialist, were turned down by the state Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services in 1991 when they sought to adopt children with physical, mental or emotional disabilities.

Cox argued there was no basis to conclude gays were unfit to adopt children.

Nina Vinik, another ACLU attorney who argued Cox's case before the state supreme court, said the law violates the constitution “by singling out gay men and lesbians and saying only those categories are excluded from consideration."

"We are confident that we will prevail," she said.

The state supreme court opinion didn't discuss pros and cons of lesbian-gay adoptions, but simply said the trial record wasn't adequate to decide whether barring them as a group violated their rights.

Five justices signed the opinion. Justices Gerald Kogan and Harry Anstead argued in a dissent that the lower court should also consider whether gays' rights to privacy and due process of law were violated.

Because the court didn't strike down the law, said state Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services spokeswoman Michelle Lagos, "The ruling was basically a legal victory."

Because the majority opinion didn't call for more hearings on the privacy and due process issues, Lagos said, "I think clearly they came very close to upholding it."

"It's disappointing in that Florida's privacy amendment protects people making decisions central to their identity," said Suzanne Goldberg, attorney for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund Inc.

The gay rights group has filed and will continue to file briefs in the case, including studies "showing that gay people are as good parents as heterosexuals," said Goldberg.

Cox and Jackman challeng the law in Sarasota County Circuit Court, and Judge Scott Brownell declared it unconstitutional in March 1993.

Brownell's decision was overturned in December 1993 by the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Lakeland. Cox appealed that ruling to the state supreme court.

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First city in Kansas will get civil rights ordinance

Lawrence, Kansas-The home of the University of Kansas has moved closer to becoming the first city in the state to extend anti-discrimination protections to lesbians and gay men.

City commissioners voted 3-2 on April 25 to tentatively amend the city's human relations ordinance to include the words "sexual orientation." Final approval was expected the following week.

"Sweet victory!" said Lynne Green, cochair of Simply Equal, the community coalition that proposed the change five months ago. "It's only taken ten years, but this is a safer town today."

The Rev. Leo Barbee Jr., pastor of Victory Bible Church and a leading opponent of the amendment, found a different message in the vote.

"We have put our stamp of approval on immorality-you can go out and do your deviant behavior with impunity," he said. "I hope and pray for our community."

The commission's vote wasn't a surprise, as commissioners already had taken stands on the issue. But they listened patiently as 50 people made their views known at the commission meeting in this college town of 65,000 just east of Kansas City.

In a familiar litany, opponents argued that the change would spark costly litigation, erode family values, restrict religious freedom, and oppose the wishes of most Lawrence residents. If the ordinance takes effect, they said, a petition drive might be attempted to force a public

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