Gay Rights

Same-Sex Adoption - My Case!

Last month I wrote about a Polk County gay couple who adopted a child in Florida now that an appellate court has ruled that the Florida statute banning homosexuals from adopting is unconstitutional. Today I represented a couple in a gay adoption case in Seminole County, Florida and it was one of the happiest cases I have ever had. My clients, partners Christy and Grace, first came to see me a few years ago for estate planning. Christy was pregnant, through artificial insemination with an ano...

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Debra G. Simms 1/10/2012 11:40:00 PM Comments(0)

Gay or Straight Couples Have a Registry in Orlando

On December 12th, Orlando's City Council voted to enact Central Florida's first domestic partner registry. This is an historic event for Orlando as it the first time that families - gay or straight - will be able to record their relationship in a government database. The registry opens on Jan. 12th. For a $30 fee registered couples will have some of the same rights that married people take for granted: the ability to visit one another in the hospital or jail, to make health care decisions for ...

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Debra G. Simms 12/25/2011 4:33:00 PM Comments(0)

Same-Sex Adoption in Florida- it's all Legal!

David Santamaria Vosburg of Lakeland, Florida seems to find nothing unusual in having adoptive parents he calls "Dad" and "Daddy."Randy Vosburg and Nick Santamaria are the first same-sex couple in Polk County to adopt a child from Florida's foster-care system. Their adoption of David became official Nov. 18th, National Adoption Day.For years, Florida law barred same-sex couples from adopting children in state custody, but that changed in September, 2010, when an appeals court ruled the law unco...

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Debra G. Simms 12/20/2011 3:35:00 PM Comments(0)

Moving Towards Repeal of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act)? Update.

The Defense of Marriage Act, ("DOMA") enacted in 1996, mandates that the federal government disregard same sex marriages legally conducted in ANY state. As a result, committed couples who marry in states that recognize gay marriage are denied an array of federal benefits and protections granted to other married couples. For example, married same-sex couples cannot file joint income tax returns, transfer an estate to a spouse without tax consequences or receive spousal Social Security benefits. ...

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Debra G. Simms 11/20/2011 2:41:00 PM Comments(0)

Is There Hope for The Respect for Marriage Act?

The Respect for Marriage Act repeals the Defense of Marriage Act and allows the federal government in the United States to provide benefits to couples in same sex marriages, although it does not compel individual states to recognize same sex marriages. It is supported by the Religious Action Center, Catholics for Equality, Change.org, and Human Rights Campaign among others. In recent Florida news, the Miami GOP Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen joined the ranks of supporters for the Respect for...

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Debra G. Simms 11/6/2011 3:05:00 PM Comments(0)

Gay Marriage, what's protected, what's not?

Last month, New York took the plunge and legalized same sex marriages. At the stroke of midnight on Sunday, July 24, same sex couples were allowed to make their relationships “official” as weddings were held in city offices and at Niagara Falls. While government offices are not usually open on Sundays, this day was an exception, and by the end of it hundreds of couples had said their vows.The legalization of gay marriage in New York, while only technically affecting those in the stat...

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Debra G. Simms 9/5/2011 7:42:00 AM Comments(0)

Same Sex Couples - Happily Ever After in The Big Apple

Small Victories in the Road to Same Sex Couples RightsBeing in a same sex relationship in Florida isn’t easy. Besides everyday relationship struggles, those in same sex relationships have to work around the rights that heterosexual couples have that they do not. Same sex partners will often experience difficulties in estate planning, child custody, medical consent, etc. when they are considering how to best provide for their partner and family.Recent gains have been made in the fight for e...

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Debra G. Simms 8/2/2011 8:23:00 AM Comments(0)

Gay Adoption is Legal in Florida!

November is National Adoption Awareness Month. Well, Floridians, be aware that gay couples are now permitted to become adoptive parents. Until now, Florida was the only state in the country to have a blanket ban on same-sex adoptions.Here’s what the draconian 33 year old Florida statute says: “No person eligible to adopt under this statute may adopt if that person is a homosexual.” But, last year, a Florida Court of Appeals decided the state's blanket ban on gay adoption was...

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Debra G. Simms 11/8/2010 9:47:00 AM Comments(0)