Lofton's lawyers couldn't believe the irony: Lofton, a pediatric nurse, has
raised the boy since the age of 2 months. Lofton has gone to federal court to
overturn the ban on adoptions by gay men and lesbians. And now the state wants
to place the child elsewhere even as some 3,400 children languish in foster care
throughout Florida.
``He's caught in this trap,'' said lawyer Christina Zawisza, legal director
of the Children First Project, who represents Lofton's foster son and a second
foster child in the federal lawsuit against the Department of Children &
Families.
Florida's law, adopted in 1977, leaves it as one of only two states that
prohibit adoptions by gay men and lesbians. The other is Mississippi. The law is
under constitutional challenge by the American Civil Liberties Union and the
Children First project, which contend that the policy works against the best
interests of children by excluding an entire group of otherwise qualified people
from adopting them.
The department argues that it's carrying out the wishes of the Florida
Legislature and that there is no ``fundamental right'' to adopt.
The department's bid to find a new family for Lofton's foster son was
disclosed Friday during a court hearing in Miami, although the issue was not the
focus and no explanation was offered.
AGENCY'S GOAL
LaNedra Carroll, spokeswoman for Children & Families in Tallahassee, said
the pending litigation restricted her comments but that in general, the agency's
goal is to seek permanent homes for foster children.
``And if there is a case where a child is being removed from a foster home,
that would indicate permanency is not an option in that foster home,'' she said.
In an interview after the hearing, Leslie Cooper, an ACLU lawyer, said she
had written the agency's lawyers ``asking for assurance that Mr. Lofton's child
would not be removed during pendency of this case. They responded that they
couldn't guarantee that.
``The only assurance they would give is that he wouldn't be removed until
they found a suitable adoptive family,'' she said. ``You can imagine how that
went over.''
Asked why the department could not wait until the lawsuit was decided,
Carroll said: ``You're asking me to comment specifically on the case. I don't
have anything more. This is a huge lawsuit that does involve the department.''
Carroll said the agency would never take punitive actions against a foster
parent because that parent ``exercised his right to file suit against this
department.''
Reached in Oregon, where he lives with his foster son by special agreement
with the state of Florida, Lofton deferred to his lawyers. ``I can't comment at
this point, thank you,'' he said.
ASKED FOR MEETING
Lofton's lawyers said they have asked Children & Families for a meeting
to explore other options.
Lawyers on both sides of the lawsuit came to court Friday to argue a motion
by Children & Families for a summary judgment, or dismissal under the law.
Attorney Casey Walker of Vero Beach argued for the state. Cooper, Zawisza and
the ACLU's Randall Marshall of Miami argued for the plaintiffs.
U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King called the controversy``one of the
very difficult social issues'' and said he could take up to a month to rule. If
he denies summary judgment, the case would proceed to trial.
While Florida bars adoption by gay men and lesbians, it doesn't bar them from
being foster parents. Lofton and his partner Roger Croteau have cared for three
foster children who tested positive for HIV at birth. The two received an award
as outstanding foster parents -- but they can't adopt those children.
Doug Houghton of Miami, another plaintiff in the case, took in his foster son
Oscar almost six years ago, when the boy was just 3 and his biological father
couldn't care for him anymore. Houghton, too, wants to adopt the child, writing
in The Herald last month: ``My son has had enough uncertainty in his life, and
he deserves better.''
Two other gay foster parents -- Wayne Smith and Daniel Skahen -- also are
named plaintiffs who eventually would like to be evaluated for suitability to
adopt. Return to
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