Arkansas One Step Closer to Allowing Gay Adoptions

Arkansas judge Christopher C. Piazza ruled on Friday that the state's ban on gay adoption is unconstitutional.

The law was approved in 2008 by 57% of the voters and was initially proposed to protect children from abuse and neglect because children do better when raised in a traditional family setting with married parents. 

Gay marriage has been illegal in the state since 2004.

Piazza wrote in his ruling, “The Act significantly burdens non-marital relationships and acts of sexual intimacy between adults because it forces them to choose between becoming a parent and having any meaningful type of intimate relationship outside of marriage.  It is especially troubling that one politically unpopular group has been specifically targeted for exclusion by the Act.”

The American Civil Liberties Union filed its legal challenge on behalf of a lesbian couple barred from adopting a special needs child. 

The Family Council Action Committee (FCAC), the primary backer responsible for getting the anti-gay measure on the ballot, has freely acknowledged that its main objective is to bar members of the LGTB community from adopting children.

According to the Times Record, Jerry Cox, Executive Director at FCAC said, “Act 1 protects the welfare of children, today's ruling by Judge Piazza hurts children and puts their welfare in jeopardy.”

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