In NYC recently, lesbians were allowed to have both of their names printed on the birth certificate of their child. Gay men were denied that because, according to New York state law, the birth mother has to be listed on the birth certificate.
Two men — Oren Adar and Mickey Ray Smith — who adopted a child in New York, but then moved to Louisiana, have sued to have both of their names put on the child’s birth certificate, but they have run into problems both with New York state (because of the birth mother law) and with Louisiana (because in that state only married couples or single individuals can adopt, and gays can’t get married in Louisiana).
Now, the couple’s case has been delayed:
There’s a hold on an order to put both fathers’ names on the birth certificate of a boy born in Shreveport and adopted in New York State by a gay couple.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will get Louisiana’s legal briefs later this year. It ordered the stay Friday.
Attorney General Buddy Caldwell says the case brings up new, complex constitutional questions and is likely to end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
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