This week saw not one, but two federal lawsuits filed to protect children of same-sex parents, with a suit in Florida joining one in Mississippi.
Florida has been one of the least friendly states for the rights of queer families, with a ban on adoption by lesbians and gay men that lasted until 2010 (and remained on the books, although not in force, until this year). Still, when Cathy Pareto and Karla Arguello, the first same-sex couple to be married in Florida, celebrated the birth of their twins a few days ago, the hospital denied Cathy the right to put her name on the children’s birth certificates, per direction from the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics.
Pareto and Arguello aren’t the only ones to feel the impact. They are joined as plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the state by Debbie and Kari Chin of St. Petersburg and Yadira Arenas and Alma Vezquez of Winter Haven. All are represented by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and Florida attorneys Mary Meeks and Elizabeth Schwartz.
Even though birth certificates are unfortunately not enough to fully protect the children of same-sex parents, they are nevertheless a vital piece of documentation. NCLR explains:
Not having an accurate birth certificate denies children with same-sex parents the dignity, security, support, and protections available upon birth to children of married different-sex parents. It also prevents parents from taking care of their children’s everyday needs like obtaining healthcare, making medical decisions, signing up for daycare, and enrolling in government programs and benefits.
This has been a multi-year struggle for many of the plaintiffs to secure full rights for their families and so many others. I wish them all the best.