Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon to fight gay adoption ban
Lesbian actress Cynthia Nixon will be kicking off a campaign to repeal Florida’s ban on gays and lesbians adopting.
The Sex and the City star will kick off the American Civil Liberties Union’s three-year campaign to end the ban this weekend at South Beach’s Shore Club.
Nixon announced her engagement to long-term girlfriend Christine Marinoni last May and has been an active campaigner for gay rights.
Florida is the only US state to ban gays and lesbians from adopting children.
Also in attendance will be three of South Florida’s political leaders – Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Democrats Nan Rich and Mary Brandenburg.
The ACLU sued the state in 2008 on behalf of Martin Gill, a gay foster father who wanted to adopt the two children he has cared for since 2004. The children were allowed to remain with Gill, although a state appeal is pending.
A press release from the ACLU said it had been give a $240,000 grant by the Tides Foundation’s State Equality Fund to pay for a three-year LGBT public education and outreach campaign.
It added: “The ACLU’s Campaign to End Florida’s Adoption Ban is designed to support the ACLU’s lawsuit challenging the adoption ban by educating Floridians about the adoption ban and the negative impact it has on Florida’s children and families.”
