Florida lawyers argue against homosexual adoption

ATLANTA - The Florida Legislature has the authority to forbid homosexuals from adopting children, lawyers for the state wrote in a brief filed in a federal appeals court. <br> <br> The attorneys argued that as Florida limits the legal number of spouses and recognizes only heterosexual marriages, it is well within the Legislature&#39;s purview to allow only heterosexuals to adopt, to ``further the public moral sense.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The brief was filed with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta Tuesday is in response to an appeal filed to a federal district judge&#39;s ruling in Miami that the law is valid. <br> <br> Florida is the only state in the nation that has a blanket prohibition against adoption by all gay people, whether married or single. Two other states prohibit only gay couples from adopting: Mississippi and Utah. <br> <br> The ban was passed in 1977 at a time when entertainer Anita Bryant went on a crusade against a Miami-Dade County ordinance protecting homosexuals from discrimination. <br> <br> Five gay men who have been foster parents or guardians to Florida children filed a lawsuit in federal court last year seeking to overturn the law.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/7/202064