Professor Joslin Comments on Arkansas Supreme Court Decision for BNA

Professor Courtney Joslin commented for the Bureau of National Affairs on the recent Arkansas Supreme Court decision striking down the Adoption and Foster Care Act of 2008, a ballot initiative that banned adoption by persons cohabitating with a sexual partner.  Although the initiative applied equally to opposite-sex and same-sex couples, Professor Joslin suggested the Court's decision was a victory for same-sex adoptive parents.  

"For decades, those defending the denial of rights to lesbian and gay people have relied on claims that such denials are necessary to protect the welfare and well being of children," she said. "Last week, the Arkansas Supreme Court became the most recent in a growing line of courts to conclude that laws categorically denying or restricting the rights of lesbian and gay people to parent children harm, rather than further, the best interests of children."

Professor Joslin is a scholar in the field of family and relationship recognition, with a particular focus on same-sex and non-marital couples.