Focus on the Family Applauds 11th U.S. Circuit Court Decision; Federal Court Upholds Florida Ban on Same-sex Adoption

1/29/2004

From: David Gasak of Focus on the Family, 719-548-4570 or culturalissues@family.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Jan. 29 -- Focus on the Family Chairman Dr. James C. Dobson today applauded the unanimous decision of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding Florida's ban on homosexual adoption. The three-judge panel affirmed a U.S. district judge's 2001 ruling in favor of Florida's 1977 law.

"We are pleased that all three judges on this panel have ruled in favor of children. This decision confirms what we have known for decades -- that children need a mother and a father," Dobson explained. "While special circumstances may require kids being raised in special arrangements, the 11th Circuit Court has recognized that Florida has a legitimate interest in placing children in stable homes headed by opposite-sex parents.

"The importance of both mothers and fathers in the healthy development of children cannot be overstated. While it is certainly true that many homosexual couples are motivated by love to care for children without parents, research has proven that such arrangements are hardly ideal," Dobson said. "Forty years of social science research confirms what has been understood throughout human history -- children fare better physically, emotionally and academically when raised by their two biological parents. And to intentionally deny children the possibility of being raised by a mother and a father is cruel."

Another encouraging sign in the ruling, Dobson said, was that the court refused to tamper with social policy by tyrannically legislating from the bench. Indeed, the ruling declared that decisions of such importance are properly decided in the Legislature, not in the courts.

"This decision perfectly highlights the proper role of the judiciary -- to interpret the law and not create law based on whims of the majority of the judges," Dobson said. "Much as the courts in Arizona, Indiana and New Jersey recognized that it was not their constitutional role to redefine marriage in those states, this federal court has refused to redefine the family through judicial fiat."