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DCF Won't Appeal Ruling on Gay Adoption Ban

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Tallahassee, FL – Florida's Department of Children and Families has decided not to challenge an appeals court decision that found the state's ban on gay adoption unconstitutional. Trimmel Gomes reports.

Before the decision by the state's 3rd District Court of Appeals, Florida had been the only state to have a statutory ban on gay people adopting children. The state initially wanted to enforce the law, but Gov. Charlie Crist and the Department of Children and Families have since sided with the lower court's ruling. Joe Follick is a spokesman with the Department.

"We felt that to appeal it would take a lot of time, take a lot of money and won't be in the best interest of the Gill family at this time, either," Follick said. "So we have decided, we won't appeal."

The ruling follows the case of Martin Gill, a gay man who challenged the law to adopt two boys he and his partner cared for as foster parents. The ban on gay adoption will now continue to be unconstitutional statewide. But Florida's Attorney General could still appeal the decision to the state Supreme Ccourt.