Oklahoma: Not OK

The ever-diligent attorneys at Lambda Legal have filed papers with a United States District Court in Oklahoma, hoping to strike down the state’s “Adoption Invalidation Law.” The law says that Oklahoma “shall not recognize an adoption by more than one individual of the same sex from any other state or foreign jurisdiction.”

This means that if a same-sex couple adopts a child legally in another state, but moves to Oklahoma, one or both of the parents will not be recogized there. Merely traveling to Oklahoma? If the child has an unfortunate accident, one or more of the parents might not be allowed to visit in the hospital. If the child was adopted by both parents, this could mean that the child is considered a legal orphan, and neither parent would have the right to make medical decisions. It’s unclear what the state would do in the increasing number of cases from New Jersey, where both lesbian parents were recognized as parents before the child’s birth, and both names put on the child’s birth certificate without an adoption being necessary.

This law is so completely unconstitutional (not to mention unethical) I find it hard to believe it passed, even in a conservative state under a conservative federal government. Why is it better for a child to be declared a legal orphan, or to be deprived of the care of one parent, than to be under the protection of two adults who care for her/him and have gone to some lengths (in another state) to legalize their parental responsibilities? Lambda Legal claims the law violates the Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection, due process and right to travel, as well as the Full Faith and Credit Clause. Let’s hope they’re heard.