Married couples will have preference when it comes to adopting children under a new measure signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer on Monday. Senate Bill 1188, which was sponsored by Sen. Linda Gray, R-Glendale, would require an adoption agency to give primary consideration to adoptive placement with a married man and woman, with all other criteria being equal. Agencies are also supposed to consider other factors, including possible placement with relatives,...

Washington Post – 4.20.11 By Anita Kumar RICHMOND — The State Board of Social Services has voted overwhelmingly against new adoption rules that some say would allow same-sex couples to adopt in the state for the first time. In a 7-2 vote Wednesday afternoon, the board opted against the new rules, first proposed by former governor Tim Kaine. In Virginia, only married couples and single men and women, regardless of sexual orientation,...

By Anita Kumar, Monday, April , 8:38 PM Washington Post RICHMOND — Republican Gov. Robert F. McDonnell is considering whether to try to derail proposed regulations developed by his Democratic predecessor that would for the first time allow gay couples to adopt children in Virginia. McDonnell has less than two weeks to act on the regulations that would force state-licensed private and church-run agencies to allow unmarried couples — heterosexual...

Thursday, March 17, 2011 – Nancy Polikoff - Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage It’s always risky to predict the outcome of a case based on oral argument. Nonetheless, I’ll predict that the Arkansas Supreme Court will affirm the decision of a trial judge in Cole v. Arkansas Dept. of Human Services that the state’s ban on adoption and fostering by anyone living with a nonmarital partner violates the state’s constitution....

 Lambda Legal, January 14, 2011 Five-year-old son raised by two fathers still without accurate birth certificate. (New Orleans, January 14, 2011) – The full 16-member U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on Wednesday, January 19, 2011, regarding the New York adoption of a Louisiana-born baby boy by a same-sex couple. Lambda Legal represents Oren Adar and Mickey Smith in their case against Louisiana State Registrar Darlene...

Post by Nancy Polikoff – Beyond Gay and Straight Marriage – December 21, 2010 The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled yesterday that second-parent adoption is not available in the state. Any such adoption previously granted is now void. The case was widely watched in North Carolina because, among other reasons, the nonbio mom, Julia Boseman, is the first openly gay member of the North Carolina General Assembly. (She did not seek reelection...

By Carlos Santoscoy – On Top Magazine Published: October 13, 2010 The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) announced Tuesday evening that it would not appeal a court ruling that found the state’s gay adoption ban unconstitutional, CNN reported. Last month, a 3-judge appeals court unanimously upheld a lower court’s ruling that found the law to be unconstitutional and to have “no rational basis.” “We had weighed...

Towleroad.com – September 22, 2010 – In November, 2008, Judge Cindy Lederman ruled that Florida’s ban on gay adoption is unconstitutional. The ruling allowed Frank Martin Gill to move forward with adopting two brothers, ages 4 and 8, who had been in Gill’s foster care since 2004. In the 53-page 2008 ruling, Lederman wrote: “It is clear that sexual orientation is not a predictor of a person’s ability to parent.”...

New York 1 – September 21, 2010 Unmarried partners, including gay couples, are now free to jointly adopt a child in New York State. Governor David Paterson signed a law making the change on Sunday. The law also puts “married couple” in the adoption statute, in place of what used to read “husband and wife.” Bill sponsors say that is meant to ensure children get insurance and other benefits from both adults, as well...

Maris Beck September 12, 2010 – TheAge.com.au A JUDGE has allowed a gay man to adopt his foster child in what is believed to be a first for Victoria. The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is in a gay relationship but has adopted the child by himself to comply with Victorian laws that make it illegal for gay couples to adopt a child together. The New South Wales Parliament passed a bill this week giving same-sex couples full adoption...