Heather is a lucky little girl. She has parents who love, nurture and support her. Heather is the main character in a wonderful children's book titled "Heather Has Two Mommies." This book by Leslea Newman presents the story of Heather, a preschooler who is being raised by a loving same-sex couple. The goal of the book is to teach children that families come in all shapes and sizes and to encourage diversity.

Of course, this book has been controversial and has even been banned in some school districts. In the state of Florida, Heather can't have two mommies, since Florida is the only state in the USA that bans same-sex couples and single gay men or lesbians from adopting children.

In our wonderful community we have several gay and lesbian couples who are raising children. They serve as foster parents and in some cases they raise these children in the shadows because the law says that gays and lesbians cannot adopt in Florida -- but hopefully that is about to change.

Our very own Key Westers Dan Skahen and Wayne Smith have been leading the fight to adopt their children for years. If I was a kid, I could think of no better parents than Wayne and Dan. They are loving parents, active in the community, wonderful human beings, successful and stable pillars of our One Human Family. They have persevered years of legal drama to finally win a court order to allow Wayne to legally adopt their son, and to do what they have been doing for years -- to raise their beautiful children and provide for them a wonderful and stable home.

Advocates of same-sex parent adoption have many friends in the political community, as well as many detractors. One of our best friends in this regard is state Rep. Ron Saunders. Ron has represented our district well and has led the fight for issues important to the Florida Keys. Ron is also a co-sponsor to repeal the discriminatory law that would have children languish in foster care rather than have them live in a stable and safe environment with two dads or two moms.

Among the detractors, and in my opinion, one of the most egregious examples, is Attorney General Bill McCollum. This guy has wasted valuable state resources and over $300,000 tax dollars to continue this discriminatory ban. With all the problems facing Florida -- unemployment, government corruption, damage from the oil spill and an epidemic of child abuse -- McCollum has decided to waste valuable time and tax dollars to play the "gay card" in a shameful attempt to win the Republican primary for governor. He is lagging in the polls and needs the right wing of his party to support him.

Florida ranks in the bottom half of the country on critical indices related to children as compared to the 50 states. We have the dubious distinction of being 36th in education spending, 49th in uninsured children and 48th in juvenile incarceration rates, meaning that Florida jails more juveniles than 47 other states. This is a disgrace. Our elected officials should be spending our resources on combating these problems rather than on launching anti-gay crusades to advance their extreme right-wing political agenda.

The problem for McCollum and his ilk is that the majority of Floridians -- 55 percent, according to polling data as reported by Nadine Smith of Equality Florida -- now believe that gays and lesbians should be able to adopt. The medical and child advocacy community have well-documented studies that prove that children raised by same-sex couples are just as well-adjusted as those raised by heterosexual couples. The evidence is on our side, but religious bigotry and homophobia continue to cloud the Tallahassee crowd's thinking. Three separate Florida courts have now ruled in favor of lifting this ban and Alex Sink, the leading Democratic candidate for governor, agrees that it is time for this law to be repealed and to focus first and foremost on the welfare of the child.

So where do we go from here? The answer is clear -- the ballot box. If we truly care about our children, we must elect leaders who care about them, too, not those who use children as pawns in their political chess games.

Raising children in a stable and caring environment should be the most important criteria for adoption. Whether a child is raised by a gay person or a heterosexual one is not the question we need to be asking. The questions we should be asking are straightforward: Can the adoptive parents support the child? Can they provide financially for them? Will they nurture them and raise them in a safe environment that encourages them to grow? Will they provide their child an excellent education and health care so he or she can grow up to be successful in his or her life.

Whether Heather has two mommies or two daddies should not be a question. Rather, will she have parents who love her and will take care of her? That is what really counts.

Rudy Molinet is a real estate broker, co-owner of Marquis Properties Realty in Key West and a community and human rights activist. He resides in Old Town Key West with Harry Hoehn, his spouse of 17 years. Contact him at rudy@rudymolinet.com.