Open letter to lawmakers urges them not to pass ban. By Dara Kam Gannett News Service TALLAHASSEE -- Actress and talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell took out full-page ads in Florida newspapers asking lawmakers to overturn the state's ban on gay adoptions, three days after being denied a meeting with the governor on the issue. O'Donnell took out the ads Thursday -- her 40th birthday -- in the Tallahassee Democrat and the Miami Herald asking lawmakers to "consider all adoption applications, without bias." "Families come in all shapes, sizes and colors," reads the open letter to "all members of the Florida state legislature" and signed by O'Donnell, "Florida foster parent, mother, talk show host." "At this moment, over 3,400 Florida children are waiting to be adopted," reads the ad paid for by O'Donnell, who owns a home in Miami Beach. O'Donnell has adopted three children and is a foster parent to another. "All adults willing to provide love and stability to these children must be considered." O'Donnell, who recently acknowledged that she is gay during a national television interview, said she came forward in order to help out a gay couple, Steve Lofton and Roger Croteau, formerly of South Florida, who are in danger of losing the 10-year-old foster child they raised from infancy. The ads threw some lawmakers into a frenzy over a telephone number steering readers to contact legislators. "If Rosie O'Donnell wants to make public policy, she should run for office like everybody else," said Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami. Sen. Anna Cowin interrupted the afternoon legislative session to object to a "poll" she said the Office of Legislative Services was conducting. "When we called this number, the office was taking a tally for I suspect Miss O'Donnell on this particular issue," the conservative Republican from Leesburg said. "Or if not for her, for somebody in our office." Cowin said she complained to the attorney general, who told her such polling was unprecedented. "I don't know who put this together. I don't know who authorized it. I don't know exactly what views are being promoted," Cowin said. "But I do know that something like this can be used to open the doors to our offices ... for the purposes of other people conducting polls that they didn't want to pay for." "We are not conducting a poll," said Senate President John McKay's spokeswoman, Karen Chandler. House Speaker Tom Feeney's spokeswoman said keeping track of the calls is standard procedure. Of 127 telephone calls recorded by aides, Chandler said 68 were from those in favor of changing the law and 59 from those opposed. Lofton and Croteau, formerly of Miami, now live in Portland, Ore., with their five foster children. The men are part of a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union seeking to overturn state law prohibiting gay adoptions. One of the three children, who were HIV-infected when placed in their care by the Florida Department of Children and Families, no longer tests positive for the virus and is now considered "adoptable" by the state. O'Donnell has become an outspoken supporter of the family and requested a meeting with Gov. Jeb Bush to discuss their case. "As you are aware, one of the principle foundations of Gov. Bush's administration has been the protection of all Floridians," Bush's Director of External Affairs wrote in a letter to O'Donnell's publicist. "But merely protecting them from harm is not enough," the letter went on. "We must also strive to promote their well-being and provide for an environment that will foster the best opportunities for each person while in the custody of the state of Florida." Steve Lofton and Roger Croteau and Family Website  www.lethimstay.com

Tallahassee lobbyist reads a full page ad, that Talk Show Host Rosie O'Donnell placed in the Tallahassee Democrat, The Miami Herald, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Orlando Sentinel. Rosie has asked Legislators to consider all adoption applications with out bias.  Image copyright © 2002, AP.

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Open letter to lawmakers urges them not to pass ban. By Dara Kam Gannett News Service TALLAHASSEE -- Actress and talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell took out full-page ads in Florida newspapers asking lawmakers to overturn the state's ban on gay adoptions, three days after being denied a meeting with the governor on the issue. O'Donnell took out the ads Thursday -- her 40th birthday -- in the Tallahassee Democrat and the Miami Herald asking lawmakers to "consider all adoption applications, without bias." "Families come in all shapes, sizes and colors," reads the open letter to "all members of the Florida state legislature" and signed by O'Donnell, "Florida foster parent, mother, talk show host." "At this moment, over 3,400 Florida children are waiting to be adopted," reads the ad paid for by O'Donnell, who owns a home in Miami Beach. O'Donnell has adopted three children and is a foster parent to another. "All adults willing to provide love and stability to these children must be considered." O'Donnell, who recently acknowledged that she is gay during a national television interview, said she came forward in order to help out a gay couple, Steve Lofton and Roger Croteau, formerly of South Florida, who are in danger of losing the 10-year-old foster child they raised from infancy. The ads threw some lawmakers into a frenzy over a telephone number steering readers to contact legislators. "If Rosie O'Donnell wants to make public policy, she should run for office like everybody else," said Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami. Sen. Anna Cowin interrupted the afternoon legislative session to object to a "poll" she said the Office of Legislative Services was conducting. "When we called this number, the office was taking a tally for I suspect Miss O'Donnell on this particular issue," the conservative Republican from Leesburg said. "Or if not for her, for somebody in our office." Cowin said she complained to the attorney general, who told her such polling was unprecedented. "I don't know who put this together. I don't know who authorized it. I don't know exactly what views are being promoted," Cowin said. "But I do know that something like this can be used to open the doors to our offices ... for the purposes of other people conducting polls that they didn't want to pay for." "We are not conducting a poll," said Senate President John McKay's spokeswoman, Karen Chandler. House Speaker Tom Feeney's spokeswoman said keeping track of the calls is standard procedure. Of 127 telephone calls recorded by aides, Chandler said 68 were from those in favor of changing the law and 59 from those opposed. Lofton and Croteau, formerly of Miami, now live in Portland, Ore., with their five foster children. The men are part of a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union seeking to overturn state law prohibiting gay adoptions. One of the three children, who were HIV-infected when placed in their care by the Florida Department of Children and Families, no longer tests positive for the virus and is now considered "adoptable" by the state. O'Donnell has become an outspoken supporter of the family and requested a meeting with Gov. Jeb Bush to discuss their case. "As you are aware, one of the principle foundations of Gov. Bush's administration has been the protection of all Floridians," Bush's Director of External Affairs wrote in a letter to O'Donnell's publicist. "But merely protecting them from harm is not enough," the letter went on. "We must also strive to promote their well-being and provide for an environment that will foster the best opportunities for each person while in the custody of the state of Florida." Steve Lofton and Roger Croteau and Family Website  www.lethimstay.com

Rosie O'Donnell Takes Gay Adoption Push to Legislators in Print.