Earlier this month, the 10th Circuit upheld a lower court’s ruling striking down an Oklahoma statute, the Adoption Invalidation Law, that effectively made children adopted by same-sex couples in other states legal orphans when the families were in Oklahoma. The law prevented police, health officials, and child welfare officials from recognizing these families. Moreover, it provided no protection for the children of invalidated adoptions. Lambda Legal had fought to overturn the law on behalf of three families, including two women who will now be able to amend their daughter’s birth certificate to reflect both rather than just one of their names.
Finsteun v. Edmonson, No. 06-6213, No. 06-6216, 2007 U.S. App. Lexis 18500 (W.D. Okla., Aug. 3, 2007).
-Dennis J. Ventry, Jr.
