Gay Adoption Ban Taken Off Florida's Books

While Florida’s ban on same-sex couples adopting children hasn’t been enforced since 2010, the law technically remains on the books.

All that will change July 1, following Gov. Rick Scott’s Thursday signing of legislation that officially repeals the measure.

Enforcement of the ban was halted in 2010 when the Third District Court of Appeals ruled the prohibition of adoption based on sexual orientation was unconstitutional.

“Following the court’s 2010 action, the state’s adoption law requires officials to assess potential adoptive parents according to the best interest of the child, regardless of parents’ sexual orientation,” Scott wrote in a letter explaining his support for the measure.

Scott did note concerns for faith-based placement agencies that worry the measure will require them to set aside “their sincerely held religious beliefs, consistent with religious freedom rights granted in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and in Article I of the Florida Constitution.”

Scott called on the Legislature to “take future action to make clear that we will support private, faith-based operators in the child welfare system and ensure that their religious convictions continue to be protected.”

All told Scott signed 48 bills into law Thursday.

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