It's not clear whether or not Don't Ask, Don't Tell is dead for good yet, but it seems the final clump of dirt has been shoveled on the grave of another bigoted, anti-homosexual government policy. The Florida Department of Children and Families has announced that they won't appeal a decision that struck down the state's ban on gay adoption. Meaning that homosexuals are one step closer to legally adopt children in the state of Florida, the only state the explicitly forbid them from doing so.
The three decade-old law was originally overturned by Judge Cindy Lederman in a Miami-Dade Circuit Court in a case the state spent lots of money trying to defend and paid George Rekers, the now-disgraced, so-called "expert" on why gays shouldn't adopt, to testify.
"We had weighed an appeal to the Florida Supreme Court to achieve an ultimate certainty and finality for all parties," said Joe Follick, the department's communications director, in a statement.
"But the depth, clarity and unanimity of the DCA opinion -- and that of Miami-Dade Judge Cindy Lederman's original circuit court decision -- has made it evident that an appeal would have a less than limited chance of a different outcome."
The Department has already said it's created new forms for adoptive parents that do not include questions about sexuality.
Governor Charlie Crist has said that his office, which control the DCF, will not appeal the decision.
Technically, Attorney General Bill McCollum could go forward with an appeal, thought that seems unlikely at this point.
