Prague/Brno, March 14 (CTK) - The civic group of gays and lesbians STUD Brno yesterday sent a petition called "Good of Children in all families" demanding that homosexuals living in registered partnerships be allowed to adopt children and signed by 2000 people to Czech Human Rights Minister Michael Kocab.
ČTK, Prague Daily Monitor, 14. 3. 2010
Under the family law, only married couples can adopt children.
The appeal, published at STUD's web page, points to "a number of expert reports saying that gays and lesbians can be as good parents as heterosexuals."
The signatories say the appeal wants to publicly reject the petition "Good of Children Above All" protesting against adoption of children by homosexuals, launched by Michaela Sojdrova, deputy chairwoman of the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL).
Kocab said earlier that he wanted to propose individual adoption of a child in the amendment to the law on registered partnership.
Last June, he was called on to do so by the government human rights council. The Greens, too, recently voiced support to homosexuals' individual adoption of children.
The registered partnership law for homosexuals was passed with the narrowest margin in March 2006. To make it through, the legislators inserted a clause banning adoptions by homosexuals.
So far, 917 homosexual couples have concluded registered partnership and 34 couples have terminated it in the Czech Republic.