Arkansas adoption law declared unconstitutional

Last week the adoption law in Arkansas that banned any unmarried person living with a partner from serving as an adoptive or foster parent was declared unconstitutional by a district judge. This didn't make the headlines either in the mainstream press or in the gay media, which was surprising to me. The suit was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (of which I have been a proud member for many years) on behalf of a lesbian couple that couldn't adopt, a grandmother who couldn't adopt her own grandchildren when her child couldn't raise the children, and married heterosexual couples who would not have been able to have a relative or friend adopt their children if the couples were to die.

That's what the right wing bigots don't get - when you try to make a law discriminating against gays and lesbians you also drag in straight people like the grandmother and married couples. In my own family I have a cousin whose husband died while serving in the military. She lives on her military widow's pension, which she would lose if she remarries. So she's lived with a guy for the last 7 years or so. By this law she wouldn't be able to adopt her nieces or nephews. That's crazy.

This law was a response to an earlier law that banned only gays and lesbians from adopting that was declared unconstitutional by the Arkansas State Supreme Court a few years earlier. The judge rightly declared that the law was not "in the best interest of the child" as other laws require. The state of Arkansas is expected to appeal.

This is another example of the laws against gays and lesbians being declared unconstitutional. I hope that the two big challenges to marriage equality heading to the national Supreme Court continue this trend. Also perhaps the challenge to Don't Ask, Don't Tell will also be successful.


I also wanted to welcome a new follower, David. I don't know much about you, David, although you seem to like cats. If you want, you can introduce yourself and tell us about you. Don't feel any pressure though, it's up to you.