Martin Gill in 2010, with the two boys who are now legally his sons.
On September 22, 2010, a traumatic, expensive and totally unnecessary six year ordeal came to an end for Martin Gill and his family.
That was the day the Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal held that Florida’s law banning adoption by gay and lesbian people was unconstitutional under Florida law because it had no rational relationship to the best interests of children.
Finally, Martin Gill and his partner of ten years could adopt the two foster sons, who had shared their home since 2004. The boys, then 6 and 10 would finally know what it was like to have a permanent home, and feel safe that the two men they called "Dad" would always be there for them. (See ACLU's In re: Gill.)
Florida's ban is bound for the history books, but other other states still stand between parent-less children and the loving homes that long to embrace them permanently.
Well, "Enough is enough," says New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Monday she will introduce the Federal "Every Child Deserves A Family Act," designed to take aim at state level impediments to gay adoption and parenting. And she's doing it via one of the GOP's favorite tricks: with the power of the purse.
The Every Child Deserves A Family Act would prohibit an entity that receives federal assistance and is involved in adoption or foster care placements from discriminating against prospective adoptive or foster parents solely on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. Congress annually invests more than $8 billion into the child welfare system, and many of these children could be adopted by LGBT couples if the bans in local jurisdictions were removed.
With this legislation, Senator Gillibrand takes New York's recent affirmation of LGBT family equality to the next level, both for her own New York constituents and for LGBT Americans across the nation.
But the most fortunate beneficiaries promise to be 100,000 kids who long for parents and a permanent home to call their own.
Details, press release after the fold.
GILLIBRAND INTRODUCES
EVERY CHILD DESERVES A FAMILY ACT
Legislation Would Open More Loving Homes To Children By Ending Discrimination Against Adoptive Parents Based On Sexual Orientation
Nationwide, More Than 100,000 Children Currently Waiting To Be Adopted
31 States Discriminate Against LGBT Families
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that she will introduce the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, legislation that would open more homes to foster children by working with states to end discrimination against adoptive and foster parents based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and marital status. Nationwide, there are an estimated 400,000 children in the U.S. foster care system, and there are more than 107,000 children currently waiting to be adopted, including 6,600 in New York. LGBT couples or individuals who want to adopt or become foster parents still face discrimination in more than 30 states.
“New York is a leader on ensuring that any family can adopt children and sets a great example for the rest of the country,” Senator Gillibrand said. “By removing all barriers for LGBT families to serve as foster parents, New York State has increased its foster parent pool by 128,000 prospective parents. This legislation would open thousands of new foster and adoptive homes to children ensuring they are raised in loving families.”
“I applaud Senator Gillibrand for introducing the Every Child Deserves a Family Act in the Senate as we look forward to celebrating National Adoption Month in November,” said Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA). “This legislation is about finding solid, permanent and loving homes for the 107,000 foster children waiting to be adopted. That's why 76 of my colleagues have joined me in sponsoring the House version. It is time to put the best interests of children first and remove all discriminatory barriers in our child welfare system.”
While most states permit single LGBT parents to adopt, many do not allow LGBT couples to adopt. Currently, five states prohibit same-sex couples from adopting (Utah, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina and Michigan). There are 6 states that ban same-sex parents from adopting their partner’s children.
More than two dozen states remain silent on how prospective LGBT foster and adoptive parents should be treated. Their lack of non-discrimination policies for same-sex couples leave children vulnerable to agencies and case workers’ biases, resulting in children being denied the benefit of placement with qualified, loving LGBT parents.
A 2001 University of Los Angeles study showed that LGBT couples are just as “fit, effective and successful as similar heterosexual parents.” There are two million LGBT people who have considered becoming adoptive or foster parents, according to the Williams Institute at UCLA. Currently 65,000 adopted children currently live with a gay or lesbian parent. In 2008, a Williams Institute study found that more than 10,500 same-sex couples are raising over 21,000 children in New York State.
In 2010, nearly 28,000 youth nationwide “aged out” of the foster care system. Research shows that these youth are at a high risk for poverty, homelessness, incarceration, and early parenthood.
The Every Child Deserves A Family Act would prohibit an entity that receives federal assistance and is involved in adoption or foster care placements from discriminating against prospective adoptive or foster parents solely on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. Congress annually invests more than $8 billion into the child welfare system, and many of these children could be adopted by LGBT couples if the bans in local jurisdictions were removed.
Gillibrand's office included data culled from
UCLA's Williams Institute on LGBT couples in the Empire state:
LGBT COUPLES BY REGION
Region |
Number of LGBT Couples |
Capital Region |
2,103 |
Central New York |
1,948 |
Hudson Valley |
4,823 |
Long Island |
5,245 |
New York City |
25,906 |
North Country |
787 |
Rochester/Finger Lakes Region |
2,621 |
Southern Tier |
852 |
Western New York |
2,032 |
But the interest LGBT Americans have in parenting is by no means contained to New York's borders. In fact, when the 2010 US Census numbers were crunched, the data painted a surprising picture. The
New York Times ran the unlikely headline:
"Parenting by Gays More Common in the South."
Child rearing among same-sex couples is more common in the South than in any other region of the country, according to Gary Gates, a demographer at the University of California, Los Angeles. Gay couples in Southern states like Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas are more likely to be raising children than their counterparts on the West Coast, in New York and in New England.
It's increasingly clear we were lied to in the 1980s by social conservatives and no region or community has a monopoly on "family values." This is a lesson Senator Gillibrand knows from personal experience. When it came time to introduce the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, freeing the Federal government to finally recognize LGBT families, a special invited guest of the Senator at the
press conference was her friend and Democratic colleague, Long Island
Suffolk County Legislature Majority Leader, Jon Cooper. Cooper and his partner Rob have adopted five children into their home.
It's past time to remove discriminatory, arbitrary, capricious and outdated restrictions on who states and their affiliated Federally-funded agencies say qualify to be a real family.
Well done, once again Senator. Keep doing what you're doing, and I'll keep visiting ActBlue. Do we have a deal?
More on this story at New York Daily News, and the Family Equality Council has set up an information and action page with more information.
Correction: Initial post said she "introduced" the bill. It will be officially introduced on Monday.
Update:
Meanwhile, off in Wing-Nut land, the increasingly desperate right find a hyperbolic spokesperson in Rep Trent Franks (R-AZ) who
warns that gay marriage:
"literally is a threat to the nation’s survival in the long run."
Oh noes! Sorry to have brought on your demise, America. --signed, gay New Yorker who worked for equal rights for all.