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Friday, September 19, 2008

Courts - More on: Kentucky appeals court rejects adoption by lesbian couple

Following up on this ILB entry from Sept. 16th on the Kentucky Court of Appeals ruling this week that held, to quote the LCJ story from that date: "the court said that stepparent adoptions are allowed only when the stepmother or father is married to the biological parent, and marriages between gays are forbidden by both statute and Kentucky's constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage," here is an AP story from the 17th, including this quote:

A lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union said the ruling hurts children.

"It's basically denying a child the protection of having two legal parents, simply because the parents are gay," said Christine Sun, who works in the ACLU's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights division.

Sun said the ruling also affects gay men and heterosexuals in Kentucky who seek to adopt but are not married to the child's biological parent.

Sun said courts in other states have ruled that stepparent-like adoptions are in the best interests of children despite laws, like Kentucky's, that bar gay couples from marriage. She said those states include Indiana and Illinois.

See Mariga v. Flint (Ind. COA, 2/16/05), trans. denied 11/25/05.

See also this editorial from the Louisville Courier Journal, dated Sept. 17th:

The recent ruling by the Kentucky Court of Appeals, regarding the laws of gay adoption, was both technically correct and a stark reminder of the lack of fairness for gay citizens, and their children, in the commonwealth.
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The law says adoptions by stepparents may occur only when the stepfather or stepmother is married to the child's biological parent. Kentucky does not allow gay marriages because of a constitutional amendment, so gay stepparents may not adopt in this state.

It is an irrational Catch-22, one built on intolerance and bigotry, but a legal Catch-22 it is.

The ruling grew out of a complicated case involving a lesbian couple who agreed to be life partners, shared a last name, had a child by artificial insemination and had joint custody of the child. When their relationship ended, the woman who bore the child was the primary residential custodian. The other woman moved to adopt the child, and that was granted in 2005. The judge cited other states that allow stepparent adoptions.

In its rejection of that ruling, the Court of Appeals chided that judge -- and other judges -- who disregarded Kentucky's laws banning gays from marrying in similar cases. The court also stressed stepparent-like adoption does not exist in Kentucky, which means this ruling could impact straight parents, too.

The Court of Appeals was bound and supported by the constitution and statutes in this ruling.

But clearly the laws are hurtful to families and children. The earlier they can be reconsidered, the better.

As is so often the case, children are paying for shortsighted legal and procedural answers to personal and societal issues. Shouldn't children have the benefit of two loving parents, gay or straight?

Equality is not an option in the United States. Sooner or later, gay people will enjoy the same rights and protections as everyone else.

It needs to be sooner. For our part, that means Kentucky must recognize that its unfair laws punish our gay citizens for being gay.

Thanks to Diana Skaggs of the Kentucky Divorce and Family Law Blog for the links.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 19, 2008 10:03 AM
Posted to Courts in general