Melanie and Vanessa Alenier
Sometimes when you see the list of names of my Uppity Women it's really hard to remember that almost all these great women started out as just simple people with a passionate belief in some cause, or interest in science or research. They probably didn't set out to do great deeds but they did, even when the road was long and hard.
Melanie and Vanessa Alenier have a passionate cause. They want to legally adopt their son Ethan, for whom they have cared since he was 9 days old. The road lies before them and it isn't a smooth one. In its cryptic logic, the State of Florida thought that Vanessa was fit enough to be paid to care for Ethan, to whom she is a biological relative. But they do not think that she is fit enough to adopt him. When filling out the copious forms to adopt Ethan, Vanessa came to the simple question "Are you gay?" She answered truthfully, because she "did not what to begin her journey as a parent with a lie." For that, she will forever be my hero.
I attended a fundraiser yesterday evening in support of their appellate battle with the State of Florida, which would like to overturn Judge Maria Sampedro-Iglesia's ruling that the State's ban on adoption by homosexuals is unconstitutional and issuance of an judgment of adoption for Ethan. I've talked in the past about the simply astonishing waste of money that our state has expended on fighting adoptions that were recommended by Guardians ad Litem, Case Managers, and now from the position of privatized child welfare agencies freed from the strictures of the Florida Department of Children and Families, entire Case Management Agencies. With so many people recommending that a prospective adopter should be allowed to adopt, it is really amazing to think that legislators who have never seen or met these families and children could have any insight into their needs and say that's wrong.
You can read a bit more about yesterday's event and about Melanie, Vanessa and Ethan on my mirror site, It's Not About Politics
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