ADF attorney available to media after hearing on Ark. Act 1 adoption lawhttp://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4851 ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND MEDIA ADVISORY ADF attorney available to media after hearing on Ark. Act 1 adoption law
ADF attorneys seek to intervene against ACLU lawsuit which challenges voter-approved law that benefits adopted and foster children WHO: ADF Senior Legal Counsel Byron Babione LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Alliance Defense Fund Senior Legal Counsel Byron Babione will be available for media interviews Friday following a hearing in the lawsuit Cole v. State of Arkansas. The hearing concerns a motion to intervene that ADF attorneys filed in January on behalf of the Family Council Action Committee to join the state of Arkansas in defending against a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against Act 1, which voters passed in last year’s November election. The act places the benefits to children of being in the best possible home environment ahead of the desire of unmarried, cohabiting couples to adopt. “Act 1 was officially approved by voters last November, but the ACLU is asking the court to undermine the democratic process, which would deprive children of the optimal family environment,” said Babione. “Research and experience shows that a home environment consisting of unmarried, cohabiting adults is not the best way to ensure the long term well-being of children. We should respect the voice of the people on this matter.” Scientific research consistently establishes that a home with a married mother and father is the best possible living environment for children. The Family Council Action Committee successfully carried out the petition drive and campaign for Act 1, resulting in voter approval by a margin of 57 percent to 43 percent. Act 1 reads, “A minor may not be adopted or placed in a foster home if the individual seeking to adopt or to serve as a foster parent is cohabiting with a sexual partner outside of a marriage which is valid under the constitution and laws of this state. The prohibition of this section applies equally to cohabiting opposite-sex and same-sex individuals.” ADF-allied attorney Martha Adcock of the Arkansas Family Council is serving as local counsel in the case. • Fact sheet on lawsuit ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family. ADF President Alan Sears is co-author with Craig Osten of the book The ACLU vs. America (www.acluvsamerica.com).
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