The Arkansas Supreme Court upheld a decision to strike down a state law barring gay couples and unmarried couples from being adoptive or foster parents.
The law, approved by voters in a 2008 ballot initiative, violates constitutional privacy rights, the court held.
“The choice imposed on cohabiting sexual partners, whether heterosexual or homosexual, is dramatic,” Justice Robert Brown wrote for the court. “They must chose either to lead a life of private, sexual intimacy with a partner without the opportunity to adopt or foster children or forego sexual cohabitation and, thereby, attain eligibility to adopt or foster.”
The Arkansas ruling follows a decision last year in Florida, which we wrote about here, striking down a Florida state ban on adoption by gays.
“The intent behind the [Arkansas] law was to try to prevent gay and lesbians from adopting or serving as foster parents,” said Garrard Beeney, a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell who represented couples challenging the law. “This is another step in the direction of striking down laws based on stereotypes and advancing efforts to place children in loving homes.”
The suit was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, which also hailed the ruling. “The ban did nothing positive,” ACLU lawyer Christine Sun said in a statement. “It required the government to intrude into the private lives of Arkansans for no child welfare purpose at all. We are relieved that the court agreed that the law is unconstitutional.”
This is good stuff.
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