A Florida statute banning gay couples from adopting children was declared unconstitutional Tuesday by a circuit judge in Miami-Dade County.
North Miami resident Martin Gill and his partner, Tom Roe, will be allowed to adopt two brothers, ages 4 and 8, who have been under their care as foster children since 2004, according to a 53-page decision issued by Judge Cindy S. Lederman.
The initial decision has been met with mixed feelings by members of UF's Pride Student Union.
"It sounds like a breakthrough in some ways," said Evan Lauteria, Pride's vice president for education.
Lauteria said he hopes the appeal goes to the state level to bring attention to the issue.
"Gay and lesbian parents are just as competent as heterosexual ones," he said.
Tuesday's decision, which overturns a 31-year-old statute, states that the statute infringes on children's rights to have permanent homes and violates rights to equal protection under the law by singling out homosexuals.
The decision is being appealed by the state through the Department of Children and Families to clarify the law for all of Florida, said Neil Skene, special counsel for the department.
Since the statute was declared unconstitutional in a lower court, the decision only affects that district and can be challenged again in other state courts, Skene said.
"If we don't appeal this decision, we're going to be litigating it one time after another," he said.
Until then, the statute is still in effect for the state.
Lauteria said he thought the timing of the decision was strange, coming only weeks after the passage of Amendment 2, which defined marriage as the union between one man and one woman.
"It's kind of bittersweet," said Adrian Ogle, the group's vice president for outreach, who compared the decision to Amendment 2. "I can't share domestic partnership benefits with my partner, but I can adopt a child."
Although Ogle said he expected to see backlash from more conservative Floridians, he viewed it as a sign of hope.
"I never in my wildest dreams would think gay adoption would be overturned," he said.
