Florida is the only state in the country with a blanket ban on gay adoptions.
Throughout the years there has been attempts through the courts and in the legislature to change that.
Yesterday in Fort Lauderdale, Chief Financial Officer and Democratic candidate for Governor Alex Sink said that has to change.
Speaking at a fundraiser hosted by Equality Florida, Sink told the crowd that it should be up to a Judge to decide on whether it would be in a child's best interest to be adopted, saying:
“We need a system in which all of our children are assured that they live in a healthy, loving home — a home that's determined not by any law." According to the Miami Herald, she added, "The decision has to be made by the judge, in consultation with the experts, to determine what is the best for that individual child.''
Although hardly a radical call (again, Florida stands by itself on its policy regarding gays and adoptions), it's something that has hardly been a staple of previous Democrats in Florida running for high office. And it didn't go for what gay rights groups have been calling for : an outright repeal of the state law.
South Florida Democratic Senator Nan Rich proposed a bill in last year's legislative session that would overturn the state's 1977 ban on gay adoption – it went nowhere. But with Sink's support…..well, it's still a dominant Republican legislature in Tallahassee.
Last month, San Francisco Bay Area Congressman Pete Stark introduced the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, which would deny funding to states that ban gay, lesbian, transgender and unmarried people from adoption or foster programs.
While no state is as strict or repressive as Florida when it comes to not allowing gays and lesbians to adopt, other states forbid unmarried couples from adoption in states that outlaw gay marriage.
For the reticent Sink, getting the LGBT crowd to enthusiastically support her candidacy can only be a boost; As the Herald reports, top GOP opponent Bill McCollum's Attorney General's office is defending the state's ban on gay adoption in a current court case that many analysts expect to see the Florida Supreme Court weigh in on.
McCollum does support the inclusion of gays and lesbians in federal hate crime legislation. That support led supporters of former Florida U.S. Senator Mel Martinez to label McCollum "the new darling of the extreme homosexuals", a despicable act that saw the St. Pete Times withdraw their support for Martinez in that August of 2004 GOP Primary (won by Martinez, incidentally).
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This article appears in Nov 11-17, 2009.