LEGISLATURE 2003

Group seeks to woo lawmakers to repeal ban on gay adoptions

By Maya Bell | Miami Bureau
Posted March 6, 2003

Email this story to a friend
Printer friendly version

LEGISLATURE 2003

Get coverage of all the action in Tallahassee as the Florida Legislature works to shape the state's future.

MIAMI -- Hoping to persuade skittish lawmakers to at least partially repeal the state law barring gay people from adopting children, a grass-roots organization is gathering signatures from Floridians opposed to the ban.

Organized by the Unity Coalition of Miami-Dade County, the petition drive is not a traditional one aimed at placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot.

Rather, it is meant to gauge public support for repealing the nation's only blanket ban against homosexual adoptions.

"It's an unscientific effort to show that not only do we [in the gay community] believe this is right, but a bigger pool of people say this is right," Herb Sosa, director of the Unity Coalition, said Wednesday.

"Let's face it, for a lot of people in the Legislature, this is stepping out. But if they see a lot of voters are behind it, they may be more comfortable."

Organizers, who include Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas' brother, hope they will collect enough signatures to persuade the Legislature to support a bill allowing homosexuals to be considered as adoptive parents just for the state's neediest children -- abused, abandoned and neglected kids ready and waiting for adoptive homes. Today, there are more than 3,400 of them.

Luis Penelas, an AIDS activist and Unity Coalition board member, said he understands all too well the dilemma politicians face in addressing decisions involving homosexuals.

He has yet to ask his brother, the mayor of Miami-Dade County who is planning a run for the U.S. Senate, to support the drive or the repeal.

"Unfortunately, that's one of the problems of being a politician," Luis Penelas said. "You want to keep getting elected so the position you take is not necessarily the one you want to take."

Alex Penelas was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

Maya Bell can be reached at 305-810-5003 or mbell@orlandosentinel.com.

UNITY COALITION of MIAMI-DADE/COALICION UNIDA de MIAMI-DADE, is a grassroots initiative created to offer leadership on issues that concern Hispanic, LGBTQ and other minority groups.