Thursday, April 07, 2011

Gay Adoption Ban Ruled Unconstitutional in Arkansas

This is a big loss for the Taliban. The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that unmarried folks are people too. And people have rights. People have rights. Presumably that includes lesbians and gays who are forbidden to marry.

Today the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that Act I, the state’s ban on adoptions by unmarried couples, is unconstitutional. Approved by voters in 2008, Act I prohibited adoption and foster parenting by unmarried individuals cohabiting with a sexual partner. This banned adoption or foster care by any unmarried couple, regardless of sexual orientation.

The lawsuit was filed in 2008 by 29 adult and child plaintiffs who were harmed by the ban and were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union. Today’s decision affirms an April ruling by a lower court judge that the adoption ban intruded on privacy rights guaranteed by the Arkansas Constitution. . .

Today’s victory leaves Mississippi and Utah as the only states with legislative adoption bans for same-sex couples. In another sign of progress, Florida’s ban on adoptions by gays and lesbians was declared unconstitutional by a state court in September.


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