An Orlando gay couple has lost an appeal requesting that the Supreme Court consider their case to have both parents' names placed on their adopted son's birth certificate. In doing so, the justices let stand that a Louisiana registrar's decision to not list both Oren Adar and Mickey Ray Smith does not violate the child's right to equal protection under the law. It also means that it doesn't deny legal recognition of the New York adoption. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal without comment Oct. 11.
Adopted children in Louisiana can get new birth certificates with their new parents' names on them, but in that state, only married couples can adopt children. That's why the registrar refused the couples' request.
The boy was born in Louisiana in 2005 and legally adopted in New York in 2006. The conflict began when Adar and Smith wanted the birth certificate changed, replacing the biological parents' names with both of the child's adopted parents.
The gay couple's attorney argued Louisiana's decision to treat parents differently based on their marital status is unconstitutional, while the opposing attorney argued that the appeal did not merit review.
