Some members of the Florida Bar and LGBT activists are up in arms over an ad that ran in The Florida Bar News, the organization’s weekly newspaper. The ad condemns gay adoption, linking gay adoptive parents to sexual and physical abuse and the spread of disease. The ad is in the form of a letter arguing against adoption by same-sex marriage, and is signed by Georgle L. Metcalf, Member, Family Law Section. To view a pdf of the ad, click on the file under the “Attachments” heading directly to the right of this article.
Attorney Mary Meeks is a member of the Bar and a local LGBT activist.
“It is a sad commentary that in this day and age there are still people like this attorney, a well-educated professional, that are so full of bigotry and hate, and are so ignorant about our community and about the issues that are supposedly so important to them,” said Meeks. “I think any reasonable person will be appalled by this ad, which is full of such obvious and disgustingly false stereotypes about LGBT families. My hope is that this will serve to galvanize the greater community to support abolition of this insidious adoption ban.”
Brian Winfield is the communications director for Equality Florida, and he said that of course there should be stringent guidlines regarding adoptive parents, but those guidelines should not discriminate based on sexual orientation.
“We also believe that those closest to the case – the judges and guardians – are in the best position to determine what is in the best interest of the child and their hands should not be tied by a 30 year old bigoted law,” said Winfield. “The hysterical rantings of a lone attorney, expressed in this ad, stand in stark contrast to the strong opposition to the ban by both Equality Florida and the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar and we are grateful that this kind of irrational backward thinking is falling away.”
