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`2 Dads’ Case Goes to Supreme Court

NEW ORLEANS – A gay rights organization is seeking Supreme Court review of the case of a gay couple who wanted both their names to appear on the birth certificate of the Louisiana child they adopted in New York.

Lambda Legal said Monday it filed for court review in the case of adoptive parents Oren Adar and Mickey Ray Smith, who now reside in the Orlando, Fla., area, sued to get both their names on the certificate.

Earlier this year, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a Louisiana registrar who insisted only one father’s name can go on the certificate.

In Louisiana, adopted children get new birth certificates with their new parents’ names on them. However, the state does not allow adoptions by unmarried couples. The state contends that putting both men’s names on the birth certificate would violate state law.

A U.S. District Court judge ruled in the men’s favor and a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit upheld the ruling in 2010. The state sought, and won, a rehearing by the full court and 16 judges heard arguments in January.

The 5th U.S. Circuit’s ruling in April 2011 said the registrar’s decision not to list both men does not violate the child’s right to equal protection under the law and doesn’t deny legal recognition of the New York adoption by both men.

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Associated Press

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