Arkansas Adoption Ban Overturned!

[3113]

Gravy to the hospital rights rules....

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- A state judge on Friday struck down an Arkansas law approved by voters that banned gay couples and other unmarried people living together from serving as adoptive or foster parents. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza said in a two-page ruling that people in ''non-marital relationships'' are forced to choose between becoming an adoptive parent and sustaining that relationship.

''Due process and equal protection are not hollow words without substance,'' Piazza said. ''They are rights enumerated in our constitution that must not be construed in such a way as to deny or disparage other rights retained by the people.''

A group of families, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, sued in 2008 to overturn the ban. They argued that there are too few families willing to adopt or foster in Arkansas, which has an average of 1,600 children on waiting lists, and that good homes were being arbitrarily cut from the list. The law effectively banned gays and lesbians from adopting or fostering children because they are unable to legally marry in Arkansas.

Piazza, a former prosecutor, agreed with claims by families who said the ban lessened the number of available adoptive and foster parents to the point where thousands of children could go without homes. He said the ban cast ''an unreasonably broad net'' and did not serve the state's interest.

Full Story http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/04/16/us/AP-US-Arkansas-Adoptions.html?_r=1.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

The entire point behind a Constitution in a democracy is to safeguard minorities from the tyranny of the majority.

 

[TE999]

In time, drops of water wear away a rock.

 

[Katyusha]

The entire point behind a Constitution in a democracy is to safeguard minorities from the tyranny of the majority.

Yep. Therein is the difference between a "people's republic" and a "constitutional republic." We're actually a "federal republic," because of the 10th Amendment.

Occasionally I run across people (all over the place) who don't understand that a majority can be just as tyrannical as a monarch or a dictator.

 

[Katyusha]

In time, drops of water wear away a rock.

For example, the Grand Canyon.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

And just possibly, JBJ.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

The opinion of a state circuit court judge means shit.

 

[SEVERUSMAX]

The entire point behind a Constitution in a democracy is to safeguard minorities from the tyranny of the majority.

Yeah, well, tell that to those who complain about "9 black-robed dictators on the Supreme Court".