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March 20, 2008

Lawmaker Hopes to End Ban on Gay Adoption in Florida

Lawmaker Hopes to End Ban on Gay Adoption in Florida

A Florida state senator has introduced a bill that would reverse a 30-year law that bars gay and lesbian couples from adopting children. Sen. Nan Rich's proposed measure would instruct judges to consider the child's best interest when placing them in a permanent home, according to WFOR, a South Florida CBS TV affiliate. A gay friend or relative would be considered as an adoptive parent if they were the child's legal guardian when the parents died.

More than 3,900 children in Florida's foster care system do not live in a permanent home.

Gov. Charlie Crist, who has publicly supported civil unions for same-sex couples, has come out against Rich's proposed legislation. State senator Ronda Storms is also working against the legislation; she has pledged to maintain the adoption prohibition against gay couples. And she just happens to chair the committee to which the measure has been assigned, and she has refused to bring it up for debate or a vote, according to WFOR.

Rich has the backing of the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, and the National Council of Jewish Women. She is the senate's Democratic policy chair and sits on the committees for children, families, and elder affairs. (The Advocate)

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