As has been discused in great detail, US District Judge John G. Heyburn recently ruled that the State of Kentucky must recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
Well, it didn't take long to see the first 'ripple effect' of that ruling - but the secondary effect may surprise you. Follow me below the Colophon d'Orange for details...
In a word - adoption.
A Fayette County (Lexington, KY) judge has finalized an adoption. This happens every day, right? Wrong:
Fayette Circuit Court Judge Kathy Stein finalized the adoption of David Crossen by Joan Callahan on Tuesday. Callahan and the man's mother, Jennifer Leigh Crossen, were married in Massachusetts in October.
Stein cited a Feb. 12 ruling in which a federal judge issued a preliminary ruling that Kentucky must recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states.
Now, Kentucky law permits adoption by only single persons and married couples. The Kentucky GOP had attempted (in 2009) to introduce legislation explicitly barring unmarried cohabitating couples from adoption, but that bill never made it to a floor vote.
Nonetheless, Stein's decision is the logical extension of Heyburn's decision. AP reports suggest that this is the first case of step-parent adoption by a member of a same-sex couple in the state; while the subject of the adoption was an adult, it will still be quite interesting to see the reaction to this "ripple effect."