Appeals court reverses lower court decision in case of lesbian couple
LAKELAND, Fla. — A Florida appeals court has reversed a lower court decision, ruling the state must give full faith and credit to adoptions granted to same-sex couples by other states.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal said Wednesday, May 13 that a trial court erred when it dismissed petitions entered in the state of Washington need not be recognized in Florida.
The justices concluded that a same-sex relationship is irrelevant for the purpose of enforcing the rights and obligations of an adoptive parent.
The case involved a lesbian couple who had two children together — each giving birth to one child and adopting the other’s non-biological child through a second-parent adoption in Washington where the women lived before moving to Florida.