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This is how Mississippi’s gay adoption ban affects ordinary couples
Two married couples in Mississippi are fighting for the right to formally adopt their children, in a lawsuit filed this week against Mississippi Department of Human Services.
Despite being together for 20 years, and now legally married, Donna Phillips and Janet Smith are unable to adopt their eight-year-old daughter together; only Donna is recognized as the legal parent.
The same is true for the second couple in the case, Kathy Garner and Susan Hrostowski, who were married last year after being together for almost 26 years. Only Kathy is the legal parent of their 15-year-old son.
Both couples have filed an injunction arguing that they – and hundreds of same-sex couples like them – are irreparably harmed each day the adoption ban remains in place.
‘The ‘what ifs’ are always there,’ said Susan. ‘What if something happens to me? What if something happens to Kathy?’
‘Our son has had two parents for 15 years and only one of us has the rights and responsibilities that other two parent families take for granted.
‘We chose to have a child, are blessed to have a child and it is fundamentally unfair for us to be married in all 50 states and U.S. territories, but not for the three of us to be considered a family when marriage and family are intricately interwoven.’
The injunction filed in court on 28 August states no financial amount can repair the fear the couples suffer, knowing they could lose custody of their children if something happens to the legal parent – as well as the damaged caused to the families as they are told by law their family is unequal to a heterosexual family.
‘The Supreme Court has made it crystal clear that these Parent Plaintiffs have a due process and equal protection right under the U.S. Constitution to have status as legal parents to their own children,’ the injunction states.
‘Given this undeniable principle, as ‘has repeatedly been recognized by the federal courts at all levels[,] violation of constitutional rights constitutes irreparable harm as a matter of law.”
Donna explained she and her wife simply want to do what’s best for their child.
‘All families should be treated with equal dignity and respect,’ she said.
‘Every day, both of us try our best to take care of our daughter and make decisions that she, as a child, cannot. Most of all, we want her to know that we are a ‘true family’ equal to any other.’
Gabriel Blau, Executive Director of Family Equality Council, said: ‘It is time for Mississippi to put the best interests of its children first. There is no rational argument for denying loving families the legal protections to which they are entitled.
‘To continue to deny children the safety and stability of legal relationships with both of their parents is unconscionable. Each of these stories represents what all parents strive for – to protect our children.
‘It is time for Mississippi to act and mitigate these egregious harms.’
The post This is how Mississippi’s gay adoption ban affects ordinary couples appeared first on Gay Star News.
Mel Spencer
www.gaystarnews.com/article/this-is-how-mississippis-gay-adoption-ban-affects-ordinary-couples/
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