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Rosie adds star power to adoption debate
By THOMAS C. TOBIN It took a female celebrity to bring about the controversial Florida law that bans gay people from adopting children. Twenty-five years later, another woman with star power will try to undo it. Rosie O'Donnell, the talk show host, actor and activist, is expected to take a prominent role this spring in denouncing the law, which the Legislature passed in 1977 as the views of singer Anita Bryant were gaining favor. Bryant, who served as the pitchwoman for Florida's orange juice industry in the 1970s, also was a religious activist who led opposition to gay rights initiatives and said children were being harmed by the notion of homosexuality. Her crusade began in Miami Beach, where she lived and twice earned the title of "Most Admired Woman" in a poll taken by Good Housekeeping magazine. O'Donnell, too, has a home in Miami Beach and has been on the cover of Good Housekeeping as well as her own magazine, but the similarities between her and Bryant end there. O'Donnell, 39, reportedly will acknowledge next month in a television interview that she is a lesbian. She also is a foster parent for one child in Florida and has adopted three children outside the state. She will be working with the American Civil Liberties Union to "reach people who are in a position of authority on gay adoption -- people who are in a position to make decisions on this," said Eric Ferrero, spokesman for the ACLU's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project. Her emergence on the issue comes as Florida's gubernatorial race is heating up, and as the ACLU presses a federal appeals court to overturn the state's ban on gay adoptions. A lower court judge in Miami upheld the law in August. Former Attorney General Janet Reno said Wednesday that she would like the Florida law to be opened up to allow adoptions by gays in some cases. "What I would want is a law that would allow a judge to decide on a case by case basis," Reno said. O'Donnell hosted a fundraiser in Miami Beach for Reno in December. Reno is also courting gay voters, and during a visit to St. Petersburg on Friday she plans to visit a gay-themed play and hold a fundraiser at a gay resort. GOP Gov. Jeb Bush's communications staff indicated he would follow existing state law on gay adoptions but did not return calls requesting amplification. Tampa lawyer Bill McBride, Reno's most formidable challenger in the Democratic primary, said he didn't think the gay adoption ban would become an issue in the governor's race. He said he would "wait to see what happens," adding: "I think those issues are going to be sorted out in the courts." Florida is the only state with a law prohibiting all gay people -- couples and individuals -- from adopting children. Two states, Mississippi and Utah, bar same-sex couples from adopting. As a foster and adoptive parent, O'Donnell would not appear to be in violation of Florida's ban. Florida law does not prevent gay people from adopting in other states and moving to Florida, as she has. Nor does it prevent gay people from being foster parents. It does, however, prevent the state's gay foster parents from taking the next step to adoption in Florida. Nonetheless, O'Donnell's voice in the debate is bound to raise the profile of the law, though the exact nature of her role is unclear. The ACLU's Ferrero described a sustained effort over many months to "engage her" in raising the public profile of Florida's gay adoptions ban as the ACLU presses the issue in federal appeals court in Atlanta. O'Donnell's involvement also will coincide with two nationally televised interviews with Diane Sawyer of ABC, the first on March 14, and the release of O'Donnell's new book, Find Me, in late April. In at least one of the interviews and in the book, O'Donnell reportedly discusses her sexual orientation and airs strong views on Florida's gay adoption ban. O'Donnell has long been an outspoken advocate for increasing adoptions, but "this is the first time that she's really made clear that she's going to speak out very directly about Florida's gay adoption ban," said Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, a Tampa-based antidiscrimination group. "It's something that we've been looking forward to and we're thrilled to see it," Smith said of O'Donnell's new role. Others, however, do not welcome the idea. "That would be something that would get our attention," said Carolyn Kunkle, development director for the Christian Coalition of Florida. Everyone has the right to debate issues, she said, but when someone tries to change policy, the coalition becomes involved, she said. The coalition's position on gay adoption is that every child should live in a family with a mother and a father, Kunkle said. Opponents of the ban say that is not always possible, especially in Florida where more than 3,000 children await adoption. Allowing gay people to adopt, they say, would expand the pool of available parents. But Kunkle said the waiting list could be reduced by eliminating red tape. If the issue were to spill over into the upcoming campaigns for governor and other state races, she said, it would likely be featured in the coalition's voters guide. The guide is an aid for voters that lists candidates' positions based on their answers in a survey. "This is a key issue for us," Kunkle said. -- Times political editor Adam C. Smith contributed to this report.
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From the Times state desk
From the state wire
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