Public hearing #1 on foster care and adoption was well attended in Tampa by the public but not by the Committee. Only two of the eight Committee members were in attendance, Senator Ronda Storms who chairs the Committee and Senator Nan Rich, the sponsor of SB200 on Adoption. Secretary Bob Butterworth of Florida Dept. of Children & Families was in attendence with two other gentlemen whose names I did not catch. Over 200 people attended the meeting and I would guess that about half of the public was there in support of repealing the ban on adoption by gay Floridians.

I arrived about 45 minutes before the hearing began and there were already about 30 people signed up to speak. I had been told that there were no planned presentations. It was to be first come, first serve with 3 minutes for each speaker. About 5 minutes before the hearing was to begin, I was told that the Committee staff changed the rules to divide the group into two topics and limit each speaker to two minutes. The first topic was everything except the ban – foster parents, adoptive parents, Community Based Care givers, etc. The second topic was repealing the ban. The first topic was allowed 100 minutes and we were allowed 50 minutes.

OUR FRIENDS AND ALLIES IN ATTENDANCE

SOCR was successful in reaching out to the two family groups in the area, Tampa Bay Family Pride (“TBFP”) and Orlando Gay Parents Group. Rev. Michael Boone came forth from the Orlando group and gave testimony that he was an award winning foster parent in the past and is an adoptive parent from when he was married, but now as a gay Floridian he is unable to adopt. Shelby Isaacson, from the TBFP yahoo group and a former co-worker of mine, spoke about the fear she had for her unborn child because her two moms would not be able to adopt in Florida if anything happened to Shelby and her husband. Pastor Deb Moss, was referred to me from a TBFP member and spoke eloquently about what it means to be a 21st Century Christian. Attorney Jonas Urba attended and spoke in favor of the repeal. Leigh Robinson contacted me and shared a heartbreaking story of Junior and his sisters. I also spoke mainly to thank Senator Rich for her support over the years. Rev. Phyllis Hunt, Terry Anderson’s sister and Claudine Suor were signed up to speak but were not called.

Family Equality's alert said "Cathy James, board member of Securing Our Children’s Rights, would like us to inform you that a pivotal hearing will be held by Florida legislators in your area, addressing, among other things, whether gays and lesbians should be able to adopt in the state of Florida."

My good friend Zeke Fread of Pride Tampa Bay referred Bay News 9 to me and I was interviewed Monday before the hearing. The story ran every hour on Tuesday. http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2007/10/23/297212.html

Leigh Robinson and Cate Colgan from ImGay TV filmed the hearing and interviewed several people after the hearing. To view videos if the hearing, return to Pride Tampa Bays Eye on GLBT News Headlines and click link View Videos at ImGay Click Here. ImGayTV will be a powerful ally for SOCR.

THE HEARING

OUR FRIENDS AND ALLIES IN ATTENDANCE