Adoption Is Now Legal for Same-Sex Couples Everywhere in U.S.

It would seem a little weird that same-sex couples couples could legally get married anywhere, but not have children. Fortunately, that’s what U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan thought too.

Until Thursday, the state of Mississippi was the only state prohibiting same-sex couples from adopting children. According to the Huffington Post, the one-sentence law said, “Adoption by couples of the same gender is prohibited,” and was adopted in 2000.

Judge Jordan wrote, “It also seems highly unlikely that the same court that held a state cannot ban gay marriage because it would deny benefits — expressly including the right to adopt — would then conclude that married gay couples can be denied that very same benefit.”

Four same-sex couples, along with the Campaign for Southern Equality and the Family Equality Council challenged the law last year.

“Two sets of our clients have waited many (almost 9 and 16) years to become legal parents to the children they have loved and cared for since birth,” said Roberta Kaplan, attorney for the plaintiffs. “We hope that it should finally be clear that discrimination against gay people simply because they are gay violates the Constitution in all 50 states, including Mississippi.”

This news, though, comes just after Mississippi approved House Bill 1523, which allows for the discrimination of gay people from businesses, public employees, and social workers based on their religious beliefs. The bill passed on Wednesday, and was deemed “the worst religious freedom bill to date,” by Ben Needham, the director of Human  Rights Campaign’s Project One America.

The bill was a response to the Supreme Court’s ruling last summer that gave same-sex couples the right to marry. The reported purpose of the bill is to defend the rights of those who would argue the ruling.