Miami, FL, United States (AHN) – A gay couple who sued to adopt two children won a major legal battle on Wednesday. They challenged the state’s gay adoption ban and an appeals court in Miami-Dade County ruled in their favor.

The Third District Court of Appeal in west Miami-Dade issued a unanimous 3-0 opinion Wednesday morning.

Frank Martin Gill, and his partner, sued to adopt two boys whom they took in as foster children in 2004. Last year, a trial court judge sided with Gill and his partner, saying the law was unconstitutional.

However the state challenged the ruling, but a day after the Senate failed to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell the Miami-Dade appeals court has upheld with the lower court’s decision, saying the law was unconstitutional.

“When we made the decision to make a final legal assault on this law, we had no idea how it would turn out. Legal scholars told us we couldn’t win,” says Robert Rosenwald, one of Gill’s lawyers in the case.

Rosenwald goes on to say, “But after meeting Martin Gill and his kids, we knew we had to stand up for this family and for gay families everywhere. Today’s unanimous decision vindicates our decision to fight.”

“Given a total ban on adoption by homosexual persons, one might expect that this reflected a legislative judgment that homosexual persons are, as a group, unfit to be parents,” the opinion states. “No one in this case has made, or even hinted at, any such argument.”

“To the contrary, the parties agree `that gay people and heterosexuals make equally good parents.’”

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist announced Wednesday afternoon he will cease enforcing the ban and called the ruling “great.”

The state law, which has been upheld for 33 years, passed in the era of Anita Bryant’s campaign against gay rights. If the state challenges the ruling, the case could end up before the state Supreme Court.

However, Crist believes the state Supreme Court wouldn’t overturn the ruling.

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