January 9 Event at Shore Club in South Beach Will Include Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, FL Senator Nan Rich and FL Rep. Mary Brandenburg
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 7, 2010
CONTACT:
Brandon Hensler, Director of Communications, (786) 363-2737 or media@aclufl.org
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida is proud to announce that Cynthia Nixon, Sex and the City star and LGBT rights advocate, will join us on Saturday, January 9, 2010 to kick off the ACLU’s three-year campaign to end Florida’s ban on adoption by gay and lesbian people.
The event, to be held in the RedRoom at South Beach’s luxurious Shore Club, will begin with a VIP reception at 7:30 p.m., followed by the main event at 8:30 p.m., with featured speakers at 9:30 p.m. Details and tickets are available at www.aclufl.org/adoption
Media are invited to a step-and-repeat media line for questions and photos to be held at 7:30 p.m. on-site. Your RSVP is required to attend, and location directions will be sent separately. Please RSVP no later than noon on Friday, Jan. 8, to Brandon Hensler, Director of Communications, at bhensler@aclufl.org or cell: 786.208.7203.
WHAT:
ACLU Adoption Campaign Kick-Off
WHEN:
Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010
WHERE:
Shore Club
1901 Collins Ave., Miami Beach
WHO:
Cynthia Nixon
U.S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Florida Senator Nan Rich
Florida Representative Mary Brandenburg
Howard Simon, ACLU of Florida Executive Director
Robert Rosenwald, ACLU-FL LGBT Advocacy Project Director
Martin Gill, ACLU plaintiff, father of two foster children for five years
Florida's Adoption Ban is the only law in the country that categorically prohibits gay men and lesbians from adopting children. This discriminatory law hurts thousands of children who are languishing in Florida's foster care system by denying them a permanent home.
The ACLU of Florida’s LGBT Advocacy Project and national ACLU LGBT Project sued the state on behalf of a North Miami man and two brothers who he had been fostering at the state’s request for four years – the only stable home the children have ever known. In a landmark November 2008 decision, a Miami judge ruled that the two boys, now ages five and nine, can remain with the adoptive father, who is gay. The State appealed to the Third District Court of Appeals, where the case has been argued. We are currently awaiting the court’s opinion.
In July 2009, The Tides Foundation’s State Equality Fund awarded a $240,000 grant to the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Florida’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Advocacy Project to fund a three-year public education and outreach campaign.
In addition, the John C. Graves Charitable Fund of the Community Foundation of Broward has provided a quarter of a million dollars to support the ACLU of Florida’s LGBT rights work since 2005, including the initial grant that seeded the LGBT Advocacy Project. Other significant support has come from The GLBT Community Projects Fund at Dade Community Foundation, and the Scott Opler Foundation. 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.
The statewide trainings will coach people on how to talk about the adoption ban with friends, family, colleagues, and small groups of people. The trainings are conducted by the ACLU of Florida, GLAAD, and Family Equality Council and will be offered in cities throughout Florida over the next three years. The January 9, 2010 event will kick off this very important campaign and bring visibility to the issue. More information on the trainings can be found at www.aclufl.org/training.
About the ACLU of Florida’s LGBT Advocacy Project
The ACLU of Florida is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For additional information, visit our web site at: www.aclufl.org.
The ACLU of Florida’s LGBT Advocacy Project has worked since 2005 to protect the legal rights of Florida’s LGBT community and is the leading organization protecting gay kids from discrimination and harassment. For additional information, visit our web site at: www.aclufl.org/lgbt
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