Law

Ark. Court Overturns Gay Adoption Ban

Says it violates couples' right to privacy.

The Supreme Court of Arkansas has struck down a law banning same-sex adoption. The court said that the law violated an individual’s right to privacy. The ban, called Act 1, was approved by Arkansas voters in 2008 and blocked unmarried couples who lived together from adopting children, effectively prohibiting all gay couples from adopting since they are not allowed to marry in the state. The American Civil Liberties Union brought the case. Jerry Cox, President of the Family Council Action Committee, which defended the law, called the ruling a “classic example of judicial tyranny,” and said that “all available options are still on the table.” Mississippi and Utah are now the only two states with explicit bans on unmarried, co-habitating couples adopting.