“We don’t need to turn the social clock in this state back to 1977” – Florida Senate blocks discrimination in adoption

Florida is moving forward and will not allow Indiana-style discrimination in adoption. The State Senate derailed an effort that originated in the Florida House of Representatives to reintroduce an anti-gay adoption law.

Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, defended the decision to jettison the gay adoption ban and called it a relic of another time that is now meaningless since an appeals court declared the law unconstitutional in 2010.

“We don’t need to turn the social clock in this state back to 1977,” said Gaetz.

The decisive Senate action came just minutes after the Florida House voted overwhelmingly to allow taxpayer funded private adoption agencies to refuse to place a child with a certain family on the basis of gender, religion, race, political beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity or family status.

Openly-gay State Representative David Richardson (D) was a true champion standing up for our families during debate in the Florida House that lasted over three hours. He put into question the constitutional and moral foundations of Representative Jason Brodeur’s discriminatory bill.

On top of this great news – the Florida Senate is one vote away from passing an adoption bill that would finally REPEAL the gay adoption ban language from state law. Even though gays and lesbians have been able to adopt for several years, this symbolic action would finally move our state past its Anita Bryant era of discrimination and intolerance. Once passed by the Senate, the bill would head to the Governor’s desk.

via Gainesville.com