Let gays, lesbians adopt, Bull Reno says
BY BETH REINHARD
breinhard@herald.com
Janet Reno has said it before, and on Tuesday, she said it again: Florida should allow gay men and lesbians to adopt children.
''If you can be a perfectly wonderful parent, and take an unadoptable child and make them adoptable, you should be able to do that,'' Reno told about 250 people at the GayLauderdale networking luncheon at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Fort Lauderdale.
The former U.S. attorney general also called for the defeat of the proposed repeal of Miami-Dade's gay rights law and the passage of state and federal laws to prohibit job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Her speech was yet another campaign event aimed at wooing gay voters, potentially powerful allies in her bid to become the next governor of Florida. Gay, black and female voters are the Democratic Party's traditional stalwarts, and are key to Reno's stratergy to defeat Gov. Jeb Bush on Nov. 5.
Her chief rival in the Sept. 10 primary, Bill McBride, has not taken as strong a stance on gay adoption. It is one of the few issues that set the two Democrats apart, since both call for smaller school classes, higher salaries for teachers and better healthcare for the elderly.
Asked about McBride's position on gay adoptions, campaign spokesman Alan Stonecipher said: ``Ultimately that will be a judicial decision that some court will have to resolve. That decision, and any other child welfare decision, should be made on the basis of the welfare of the child.''
McBride would sign a law allowing adoption by gay parents if he were elected governor, Stonecipher said when pressed. He added that the law firm McBride headed before his campaign, Holland & Knight, was among the first to offer health benefits to employees' same-sex companions.
But in 1999, McBride decided the firm would decline an opportunity to represent plaintiffs challenging Florida's ban on gay adoptions. At the time, he said the issue was too political and divisive.
Activists at the lunch said the gay community is leaning to Reno. She attracted more than twice the usual crowd for the monthly event. Talk show host Rosie O'Donnell, a lesbian who is trying to drum up opposition to the adoption ban, hosted a fundraiser for Reno last year in Miami. The Gay and Lesbian Community Center in Fort Lauderdale gave Reno a lifetime achievement award in November.
''She's the only candidate who has responded favorably on gay issues,'' said Dean Trantalis, president of the Dolphin Democratic Club, which has not endorsed Reno or McBride. ``All the other ones dance around them.''
Florida is the only state that prohibits all adoptions by gay adults, though homosexuals may act as foster parents.
Monte Guthrie, president of GayLauderdale, called adoption by homosexuals ``the kitchen-table issue for the gay community.''
''We feel a connection to her,'' he said of Reno. ``She's a woman and understands discrimination. Bill McBride is a big unknown still, and some people want to learn more about him before they make up their mind.''
Bill Henkel, a Fort Lauderdale retiree who attended the lunch, said he would vote for Reno but was skeptical that she could beat a popular incumbent and brother of the president.
''I think it's tragic that she's up against Jeb, with all his money and resources,'' he said. ``Even if she wins the primary, on Sept. 11 she'll be 20 points behind.''
<small>[ July 10, 2002, 06:46 PM: Message edited by: rickheel ]</small>
|