Like a Glass Full of Sunshine

Jeb Bush's Florida continues to be the only state to explicitly ban gay adoption, after SCOTUS refused to hear an appeal of a 1977 "Anita Bryant" law. Commentators were calling this the most significant gay rights case to reach the high court since Lawrence v. Texas. The bigot brigade is crowing, but rational observers tend to think the court simply wasn't ready to tackle the case, preferring to let similar lawsuits rattle around the circuits for awhile. (Question whether gays in general are prepared to handle another nationwide backlash if SCOTUS had overturned this law. Maybe some breathing room is preferable.)

Speaking of intermediate appeals, I had missed that the 11th Circuit had evenly split 6-6 in its denial for an en banc review of the case. (W's highly controversial recess-appointment Bill Pryor cast the decisive vote.) That decision captured the sharp debate going on in legal circles over the reach of SCOTUS's ruling in Lawrence. Justice Kennedy's powerful plea to normalize gays and their relationships -- and the Court's refusal yesterday to hear Lorton -- will both be relevant when the Arkansas foster parent case reaches the 5th Circuit this year.