Arkansas says gay foster parents okay

An Arkansas County Circut court judge has overturned a state ban that said gays cannot become foster parents and foster children cannot be placed in any home with a gay member under its roof.

The ACLU had argued the regulation violates the equal-protection rights of gays. But the judge’s ruling did not turn on that argument.

Instead, [Pulaski County Circuit Judge Timothy] Fox noted that the Arkansas Legislature gave the state Child Welfare Agency Review board the power to "promote the health, safety and welfare of children" but the ban does not accomplish that. Rather, he said, the regulation seeks to regulate "public morality" - something the board was not given the authority to do.

"The testimony and evidence overwhelmingly showed that there was no rational relationship between the ... blanket exclusion" of gays "and the health, safety and welfare of the foster children," Fox wrote.