U.K. Magistrate
Resigns in Protest of Gay Adoption

A Christian magistrate in the United Kingdom stepped down because he would not allow gay couples to adopt children, according to a story published Tuesday in The Times of London.

Andrew McClintock, 63, an opponent of adoption by gays, had previously written to his superiors requesting that he be exempt from hearings involving same-sex couples by April, when a law allowing such adoptions would take effect. McClintock announced his resignation after his request was denied.

In March, McClintock, a magistrate for 18 years, took his superiors to court, claiming that he endured discrimination because of his religious beliefs. He lost his case. At an appeal trial Monday, McClintock's attorney, Paul Diamond, argued that his client had valid reasons to question whether living with a gay couple would be in the child's best interest.

"It is possible to argue that a child can thrive in a same-sex household," Diamond said, according to The Times. "What is more difficult to argue, however, is that it is anything but experimental."

Adrian Lynch, a representative of the country's Department of Constitutional Affairs, said it was parliament, not the magistrates, who set adoption standards.

"The judge's duty is to apply the law," Lynch told The Times. "The truth is that Mr. McClintock was refusing to apply the law." (The Advocate)