Homophobic adoption agencies accused of gay discrimination cease business in New York

The antigay Adoption.com and ParentProfiles.com stopped doing business in New York, according to a March 4 announcement issued by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo [pictured].

In July, 2008, Lambda Legal filed a discrimination complaint with the attorney general’s office on behalf of Rosario Gennaro and Alexander Gardner, a New York gay couple barred from posting their online adoptive-parent profile by the companies solely because they are a same-sex couple. Despite having obtained certification as Qualified Adoptive Parents from the New York City Surrogate Court, the couple was unable to post their profile on the website. The eligibility requirements of the website allowed only “Qualifying Husband and Wife” couples that are “one male husband and one female wife” to use the service.

This latest announcement confirms that the companies in question violated New York laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and marital status.

“New York Attorney General Cuomo has sent a clear message to all businesses that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation will not be tolerated,” said Flor Bermudez, Staff Attorney at Lambda Legal. “Companies can’t come into New York and hang a sign on their door saying ‘Same-sex couples need not apply.'”

Adoption Profiles was also sued in California in 2004 for violating that state’s antidiscrimination law and, as a result, is no longer doing business there.