A 4-year-old foster child of a gay couple was skeptical at first about letting his new fathers feed or change his little brother’s diapers.
Martin Gill, one of his new fathers, said it was apparent that the older child had to help take care of his infant brother in the past.
When the state wanted to take the boys away from Gill and split the brothers up to place them in permanent homes, he sued to adopt them.
More than five years later, Gill is still fighting to adopt the brothers, and on Tuesday night he and the American Civil Liberties Union presented a new documentary on Florida’s gay adoption ban, the only one in the country.
The film, “In Anita’s Wake: The Irrational War on Florida’s Gay Families,” was shown at the Hippodrome State Theater.
Gay families are no different than families with heterosexual parents, said Vicki Nantz, one of two filmmakers.
Gill said he was doing what any parent would do – fighting for his children.
He said he wants to give them continuity and permanency, rather more disruption.
Gill is closer than ever to his dream of adopting the kids. On Sept. 22, a three-judge panel of the Third District Court of Appeals unanimously ruled there’s no rational basis for excluding gay men and lesbians from adopting.
Gill and his attorney, Shelbi Day with ACLU, said they were hopeful the state would not appeal the decision to the State Supreme Court, but said they believed if it was appealed, Gill had the best possible chance of overturning the case of anyone since the ban was passed in 1977.
