Video from ACLU shows the effects of banning lesbian and gay adoption in Florida.

A ban on gay adoptions has been in effect in Florida since 1977. This video introduces Curtis Watson and his partner, Scott Elsass, who tell the story of how they came to foster Francesca and Angelina, two girls whom the state could not place anywhere else.

According to the ACLU, the girls went from being “problem” children to harmonious members of a loving family. But – after a judge awarded the couple legal custody of Francesca and Angelina – the state tried to remove the girls from their home because Watson and Elsass are gay.

The fathers have been forced into a legal battle to win permanent custody of their daughters.