Supreme Court Asked to Hear Challenge on Florida's Homosexual Adoption Ban
''The issue here is what's best for the child, and the governor firmly believes that the best possible situation is to have the child in a family with a loving mother and father''
The American Civil Liberties Union challenged Florida’s homosexual adoption ban in the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday.
Also involved in pushing homosexual “marriage” in several sates, the ACLU submitted a 40-page brief Friday on behalf of four homosexual men who want to adopt children in their care. The group argued the ban is discrimination “disguised as public policy” and asked the High Court to declare the ban unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court is expected to decide whether to hear the appeal by early January.
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Jill Bratina, a spokeswoman for Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, said the well-being of the children is the main concern of this case.
"The issue here is what's best for the child,” she said, “and the governor firmly believes that the best possible situation is to have the child in a family with a loving mother and father. Florida's law has been upheld in the courts and we will continue to defend it."
Earlier this year, a panel of three judges from the 11th Circuit Court rejected ACLU’s challenge to a 1977 Florida law, the only type in the nation, which prohibits homosexuals to adopt children.
In that case, three-judge panel ruled that "it is not in the best interests of its displaced children to be adopted by individuals who 'engage in current, voluntary homosexual activity' -- and we have found nothing in the Constitution that forbids this policy judgment,” stated the opinion written by Floridian Judge Stanley Birch.
Unlike a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on a Texas case dealing with sexual conduct behind closed doors, adoption is a public act subject to state review, said Birch in the opinion. The panel also said the matter should be decided by the legislation.
In July, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the ACLU’s request for a hearing to appeal the panel’s decision.
The law was enacted after former Miss America Anita Bryant led a pro-family campaign. It reads: "No person eligible to adopt under this statute may adopt if that person is a homosexual."
