JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A statute banning gay adoptions is a step closer to being removed from state law.
On Wednesday, the state house passed a bill which would get rid of the law that was originally enacted in 1977.
The law hasn’t been enforced since 2010.
The Florida House bill aims to remove language from a statute made in the 1970s that banned gay adoption, a change that a family living in Jacksonville is happy to see.
Melissa McCord and Jennifer Endler have been a couple for 5 years and were just recently married.
They’re working to adopt each other’s kids and they say it’s about time that Florida finally removes a law banning adoption by gay people.
“To say that a child can't go to a home because two men or women want to raise them is crazy," Melisa McCord said. "They get the same loving family that a heterosexual couple would give them.”
The original law was passed in 1977. It said that “no person eligible to adopt under this statute may adopt if that person is a homosexual.”
In 2010, the Florida Third District Court of Appeal ruled the law unconstitutional.
“Even though the language was still in the books and in Florida statutes, gay people and LGBT people have been able to adopt in the state of Florida and that prohibition hasn't been enforced," said attorney Deborah Greene, of Combs Greene Law.
This week, the Florida House amended an adoption incentives bill. The amendment allowed for the removal of the adoption ban and means the Florida statute will now match the way the law has been handled since 2010.
“That's just a reflection of the changing public opinion,” Greene said.
“Florida is catching up with the other states," McCord said. "They just legalized gay marriages and now taking this out it protects families, families like ours.”
Despite opposition from politicians and interest groups the bill passed through the House with a vote of 68 to 50. The bill will now go to the Florida Senate.
WJAX
