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Florida child welfare agency will not appeal ruling to allow gay adoptions
Florida will cease to enforce its ban gay adoptions, as the Department of Children and Families announced Tuesday that it would not appeal the September decision by the Third District Court of Appeals that the ban was unconstitutional.
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Appeals court upholds ruling: Florida’s ban on gay adoption ‘unconstitutional’
A court ruling declaring Florida’s ban against gay adoption unconstitutional was upheld Wednesday in a decision by the Third District Court of Appeals in Miami, affirming the controversial adoption of two foster children by a gay Miami couple. The Miami Herald reports: The unanimous 3-0 decision deals a critical blow to Florida’s 33-year-old law banning […]
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NY Governor signs law permitting joint adoptions for unmarried partners
A new New York State law permits unmarried partners — including gay couples — to jointly adopt a child. Governor David Paterson announced Sunday that he signed the adoption bill, which was effective immediately. The law also substitutes the gender-neutral term “married couple” in the adoption statute for “husband and wife.” According to sponsors, that […]
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Florida GOP candidate trifecta: no gay marriage, adoption, or foster parenting
Bill McCollum, Florida’s Attorney General and a Republican candidate for Governor, has made it clear he supports his state’s ban on gay adoption, and he doesn’t think gay people should be allowed to be foster parents, either.
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Obama administration to expand family, medical leave benefits to same-sex parents
President Obama is taking another step to expand the rights of gay workers by allowing them to take family and medical leave to care for sick or newborn children of same-sex partners, administration officials annoiunced Monday. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is scheduled to make the announcement on Wednesday that will require employers to allow gay […]
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Parents say 11-year-old daughter denied medical treatment because she has ‘two moms’
The parents of an 11-year-old student in Rancho Rio, NM, are planning a civil rights lawsuit against their daughter’s school for failing to provide her treatment following a playground accident because, they say, she has “two moms.” On February 26, Jenna Bissell says she sat in her fifth-grade class at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary […]
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NY Court of Appeals expands rights for same-sex parents
Under a new ruling by New York’s highest court this week, same-sex parents are guaranteed consideration for custody or visitation in the event of divorce or death. Previously, the non-biological partner had these rights, but only if that parent legally adopted the shared child. But the court limited its rulings, and declined to resolve two […]
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Gay couple wins legal battle over birth certificate of adopted child
A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of a California couple’s quest for a birth certificate for their adopted son that includes both fathers’ names Oren Adar and Mickey Ray Smith, who adopted a Louisiana-born baby boy in 2006 through a court in New York, filed suit in 2007 after they were refused the […]
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Rosie O’Donnell’s new HBO documentary to focus on diverse families
In her new HBO documentary, Rosie O’Donnell brings together a diverse group of families, letting the kids offer their candid and humorous insights about what being a family means. Produced by O’Donnell, who also makes a brief appearance, A Family Is a Family Is a Family is a documentary where kids in nontraditional families talk […]
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Florida judge approves lesbian couple adoption despite state’s ban
Florida’s outdated gay adoption ban took another hit after a Miami judge approved the adoption by a lesbian couple. Vanessa Alenier and Melanie Leon of Hollywood, FL, became the third gay couple in the last year to be approved to adopt, directly contradicting the state’s 1977 law against it, according to the Miami Herald. Alenier, […]