State courts Wednesday struck down a Florida law preventing gays and lesbians from adopting children.

The state’s 3rd District Court of Appeal unanimously ruled the ban unconstitutional on the basis of the equal protection clause.

In the 42-page ruling, Judge Cindy S. Lederman wrote that Florida’s adoption law banning qualified parents from adopting is contradictory to other portions of the law highlighting “the best interests of the child.”

“By the time of the trial below, the application of the statutory ban was contrary to both the professional judgment of the Department and the legislative directive to assure ‘the best interest of the child’ in ‘every’ adoption,” she said.

The state of Ohio only permits single LGBT parents to adopt. Hopefully, Florida’s decision will bring our Midwestern state closer to fully allowing gay prospective parents to adopt.