Florida Legislature mulls gay adoption ban

By Ruth Schneider, 365gay.com
03.25.2010 9:00am EDT

The Florida Legislature took a tentative step forward as it considered bills in both the House and the Senate that would allow gay couples to adopt, reversing a ban that has been in place since the 1970s.

Late last week an amendment was attached to a bill seeking to eliminate a requirement to ask prospective parents whether they own firearms. The amendment added language that bans asking the sexual orientation of prospective parents.

“There’s many parents who serve as foster parents for years and are denied the right to adopt because of their orientation,” Sen. Charlie Justice told the Miami Herald. He filed the amendment, but later withdrew it.

“The groundbreaking amendment was immediately withdrawn, but not before giving Florida’s GLBT community a glimmer of hope for the future and the future of our families,” Megan Alfredson, a member of Students Advocating For Equality told 365gay.com, after watching the proceedings.