Judge strikes down ban on placing children in homes with a gay person

[a kennedy]

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- A state ban on placing foster children in any household with a gay member was struck down when a judge ruled that the state agency enforcing it overstepped its authority by trying to regulate ``public morality.''

Ruling in a case brought by the Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Timothy Fox declared the ban unconstitutional Wednesday.

At issue was a 1999 board regulation that said gays cannot become foster parents, and foster children cannot be placed in any home with a gay member under its roof.

The ACLU had argued that the regulation violates the equal-protection rights of gays. But the judge's ruling did not turn on that argument.

Instead, Fox noted that the Arkansas Legislature gave the state Child Welfare Agency Review board the power to ``promote the health, safety and welfare of children,'' but the ban does not accomplish that. Rather, he said the regulation seeks to regulate ``public morality'' - something the board was not given the authority to do.

``The testimony and evidence overwhelmingly showed that there was no rational relationship between the ... blanket exclusion (of gays) and the health, safety and welfare of the foster children,'' Fox wrote.


http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/5160968.html

[Stand and Fight]

1. Glad to see this.

As a former foster child, I can say that looking back the only home where I was ever actually happy and content was with a gay foster parent. I was just sharing this very tidbit with my wife the other night after I got off the phone with that same foster parent. The so-called straight foster parents were crooked liars who were in it for the big over-payment they received for having foster kids. My homosexual foster father was the only foster parent I ever had that really gave a damn about me, and promoted my health, safety and welfare before his pocketbook. This is an excellent ruling, and I'm very happy to see that there are honest judges out there still. While, I'm not from Arkansas -- Las Vegas, NV -- it warms my heart to see that true moral values do exist in the hearts of some.