Florida

They were once a couple who wanted a child. One donated the egg. The other had it implanted into her womb and carried the child to term. After they two broke up, a circuit judge ruled that the mom who bore the child is the mother. Last week, however, a state appeals court in Daytona Beach overturned his decision, saying the other mother has parental rights, too. The 5th District Court of Appeal ruled that the U.S. and Florida constitutions trump Florida law and give parenting rights to both women. Under Florida law, a woman who gives birth is the mother.

For 33 years, Florida barred gays and lesbians from adopting. That changed last fall, when Florida's Third District Court of Appeal in Miami ruled the law unenforceable and the state declined to challenge it. Since then, family law attorneys estimate more than 100 gay people in South Florida have pending adoption cases. After five years of legal battles, Miami's Martin Gill and his partner won the right to adopt their two sons. The family has since attended a holiday celebration at the White House, and met President Obama.

A bill that would provide domestic partnership protections to committed couples throughout Florida has been filed in both chambers of the legislature. The Domestic Partnerships Act would grant individuals in a domestic partnership the same benefits and responsibilities currently available through marriage. The filing comes as more local municipalities (most recently Ft. Lauderdale) have adopted these vital workplace protections that are often the only means for gay couples to get health care benefits.

Article adapted by PrideParenting.com from original press release

According to data from the US Census Bureau, the number of same-gender households in Florida has seen a dramatic increase, up 60% over the past 10 years. Perhaps more importantly, the data also shows that our families live in every county and every city of Florida.

These numbers reflect a much greater willingness on the part of same-gender couples to be out and open about their families. The increase in the visibility of our families can only be seen as positive.

A recent poll conducted in Florida - by Public Policy Polling - shows 64 percent of residents in favor of either marriage equality or civil unions. This is a big shift from three years ago when Amendment 2 (which defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman) passed with 61 percent approval. Amendment 2 would not pass if it were voted on today. Likewise, beginning in April 2011, surveys such as Gallup and CNN began showing a majority of Americans for the first time narrowly supporting marriage equality.

Orange County Florida leaders voted 6-0 to extend health and other workplace benefits to the partners and children of gay county employees. More than a dozen residents spoke in favor of the policy change. "All people deserve to be treated compassionately," said Mayor Teresa Jacobs, who said she had to wrestle through her own beliefs as a Roman Catholic on the sanctity of marriage.

A Flagler County teacher has agreed to issue a public apology to a high school freshman who became a target of anti-gay bullying. "The teacher said something to me in the middle of class and the whole class laughed," said 15-year-old Luke Herbert. "(The teacher said) 'You can't put Mountain Dew and Pepsi in the same fridge or they'll turn gay.' And he looked directly at me." Herbert and his mother met with school officials and the teacher.