Legality of Gay Adoption in Washington and Other States

June 2, 2007 7:52 PM

I am interested in laws and cases pertaining to adoption by gays, both internationally and domestically, specifically but not limited to laws in Washington state.
posted by tehgeekmeister to law & government (7 comments total)

According to about.com, Washington state "permits single GLBT adoption. Joint adoption unclear. Second-parent adoption in some areas." The linked page lists the legal status of gay adoption in each state. I got there by googling "gay adoption law".
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:11 PM on June 2, 2007

Here's a better page, from the Human Rights Campaign.

Washington Adoption Law (as of Oct 2006)

Permits single GLBT individuals to petition to adopt? Yes.
Washington law permits a legally competent adult to petition to adopt.

Permits a same-sex couple to jointly petition to adopt? No explicit prohibition

Permits a same-sex partner to petition to adopt partner’s child or child of the relationship? In some jurisdictions
In some jurisdictions in Washington a person may be able to petition to adopt his or her same-sex partner’s child or child of the relationship.

Citation: WASH. REV. CODE ANN. § 26.33.140.

posted by LobsterMitten at 8:14 PM on June 2, 2007

And, one more for good measure: The Lesbian and Gay Task Force offers a PDF map of the US colorcoded to show the legality of second-parent adoption. It classifies Washington as a state in which a "trial court has granted second-parent adoption", as of May 2007.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:19 PM on June 2, 2007

should be The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force - link to their front page
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:24 PM on June 2, 2007

Although the article's accuracy is marked as disputed, this Wikipedia article may be a good place to start. While the information in the article mave prove useful, you should really check out the See Also section as well as the External Links section.

Another article that came up in my Google query was 'LGBT rights in the United States' which is also an article that you will want to check out.

I don't ussually suggest going to about.com, but this page caught my eye, and although almost all the links are dead within it, I have found some other good sites for you to check out.

This page has laws for each state.

This page shows laws for Washington State.

And here is some "Information and resources for prospective and adoptive parents who are gay and lesbian, including the status of gay and lesbian parenting, issues, laws, and more."
posted by dnthomps at 8:27 PM on June 2, 2007

Dan Savage, who is gay and lives in Seattle, adopted a kid with his partner and wrote a book about it.

Washington also legalized limited domestic partnerships this years.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 10:33 PM on June 2, 2007

The National Center for Lesbian Rights also has a page of resources, including a state by state list of cases.
posted by gingerbeer at 10:50 PM on June 2, 2007