
CONTACTAbout UsCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2025 Equal Entertainment LLC.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
We need your help
Your support makes The Advocate's original LGBTQ+ reporting possible. Become a member today to help us continue this work.
Your support makes The Advocate's original LGBTQ+ reporting possible. Become a member today to help us continue this work.
The state of Florida will immediately stop enforcing its ban on adoptions by gay people after Wednesday's decision by a state appeals court that the three-decade-old law is unconstitutional, Gov. Charlie Crist said Wednesday.
"The unanimous 3-0 decision deals a critical blow to Florida's 33-year-old law banning adoption by gay men and lesbians, and most likely sends the case to Florida's highest court for resolution," The Miami Heraldwrote Wednesday morning.
The decision from the third district court of appeal in Miami will allow Frank Martin Gill, the gay father at the center of the case, to keep the two sons he and his partner adopted in 2009 after fostering the boys for several years.
"I'm very pleased with the ruling on behalf of the Gills," Crist told reporters in Tallahassee. "It's a great day for children. Children deserve a loving home."
Crist had previously supported the state's gay adoption ban, but earlier this month, suggested his opinion on the ban had softened. In a position paper for his U.S. Senate campaign released earlier this month, he expressed support for "hospital visitation, inheritance and adoption rights; opposition to the ban on gays serving in the military; support for anti-discrimination laws and appropriations for HIV and AIDS programs."
The appeals court decision is not the final word on the law. Gill and his legal team at the American Civil Liberties Union are hoping to take the case to the Florida supreme court to obtain a final statewide ruling on the law.
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Watch Now: Pride Today
Latest Stories
Appeals court rules transgender Florida teacher cannot use female pronouns in school
July 04 2025 7:00 AM
BREAKING: Supreme Court to decide whether states can ban transgender women & girls from sports
July 03 2025 10:02 AM
True
How dark will our skies be on July 4, 2026?
July 04 2025 6:00 AM
Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down abortion ban from 1849
July 02 2025 11:55 AM
Queer subtext in Disney's 'Elio' was reportedly cut by Pixar
July 03 2025 12:30 PM
Who was Jimmy Swaggart, the late, anti-LGBTQ+, disgraced televangelist?
July 02 2025 5:40 PM