Florida is the only state in the country with a blanket ban on gay adoptions.
That's been the law of the land in the Sunshine State since 1977, despite legal and legislative attempts to remedy the restrictive policy.
This past Sunday 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 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."
But instead of calling for an outright repeal of the ban — which LGBT advocates in Florida have been calling for — Sink said such decisions should be made in court by a judge, "in consultation with the experts, to determine what is the best for that individual child."
South Florida Democratic Senator Nan Rich proposed a bill in last year's legislative session that would overturn the ban, but it went nowhere in committee.
As Rich's bill reads, "the adoption ban arbitrarily excludes hundreds, if not thousands of potential parents based solely on the irrelevant criteria of sexual orientation."
Last month, California Congressman Pete Stark introduced the Every Child Deserves A Family Act, which would deny federal funding to states that ban gay, lesbian, transgender and unmarried people from adoption or foster programs.
Last year a Miami-Dade judge ruled that the Florida ban was unconstitutional. The state (led by Sink's possible general election Republican opponent next year, Attorney General Bill McCollum) appealed.
The 3rd District Court of Appeals heard arguments over the case during the summer, and a decision is expected soon. Many legal analysts predict the Florida Supreme Court will ultimately have to weigh in on the matter.
This article appears in Nov 18-24, 2009.