The 2008 law that prevented gay couples from adopting was ruled unconstitutional Friday by Arkansas judge, Christopher Piazza, who said the law should not exist in the state.

“This infringes upon the fundamental right to privacy guaranteed to all citizens of Arkansas,” Piazza said in his two-page court ruling.

While the state argued that Act 1 protects children from the neglect and abuse that would be found in a “non-traditional family”, the American Civil Liberties Union pressed charges on behalf of several couples and individuals that were denied the ability to adopt, including a grandmother that could not adopt her granddaughter because she lives with her lesbian partner.

“We have a critical shortage of homes now and this ban was denying good, loving homes to our most vulnerable children.” said a staff attorney for ACLU of Arkansas.

The Family Council Action Committee, an anti-gay Arkansas based organization, said that its goal is to completely ban gay and lesbian couples from adopting or serving as foster parents, a mission that the ACLU is continuing to prevent in court.

For more on this story and the Act 1 court case, visit ontopmag.com.

Olivia Stephens