Bob O’Leary

One of the greatest arguments against gay rights is “family values.” Tolerating homosexuality threatens the structure of the traditional family, so the Christianists say.

Then how do they explain Frank Gill and his two adopted sons “John” and “James”? And if the idea behind anti-gay laws is to “protect children,” why does the state of Florida want to break up Gill’s family, especially when the state begged Frank to be the children’s foster parent in the first place?

Back before Christmas in 2004, the Florida Department of Children and Families found John and James with their crack-addict parents. James was four at the time, and he was dressed only in a T-shirt and sneakers. Half his hair was missing because of ringworm. James had an ear infection. Medicine for both boys sat on the shelf unopened.

Frank did not want to take the boys at first. He and his partner were going to move from Miami to Georgia, and he did not want to uproot the boys once they got settled. But the state social worker knew Frank was qualified. He had a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in public health. He had fostered before. Here’s Frank’s take from the ACLU blog:

The social worker said they just needed a place for about a month, as a family member had agreed to take them, but first had to go through an approval process. I still said no. She said we were the only home in the agency with any space left. Then she said, “I bet you could give them a really nice Christmas.”

Frank took them in, and the boys had more than a nice Christmas. The boys bonded with Frank, his partner, and his partner’s son. Frank and his partner decided to stay in Florida, enrolliing them in school and taking them to church. Eventually, Frank decided to adopt the boys.

There was one problem: Florida has a law prohibits gays from adopting children. The law was adopted in 1977 when Anita Bryant went on her anti-gay campaign.

Gill sued the state and won. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman struck down the law in a sharply worded 53-page ruling, calling the law, “illogical to the point of irrationality.”

Florida attorney general Bill McCollum said the state will appeal the ruling. The state spent $87,000 on two questionable expert witnesses whose main contention was that gays could not be fit parents because they were mentally unstable. No state witnesses could provide any evidence that the two boys would be better off removed from Gill. On the other side, Gill’s attorneys provided plenty of experts who said that it would be “devastating to remove them from Gill’s home.”

The ACLU wanted to expedite the case to the Florida Supreme Court but were denied. While the boys are still living with Gill and his partner, there are more court battles to come. Gill’s case has garnered some media attention, particularly from the Chicago Tribune’s Steve Chapman and the Orlando Sentinel’s Mike Thomas. Neither of these columnists are known for their support for gay rights. For more media links, see this Seattle gay blog.

Gill and his family are living proof that laws prohibiting gay marriage and gays adopting children make no sense. Instead of protecting families, they hurt them.

If you don’t believe me, watch this video:

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