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After a seven-year court battle by the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û, the Arkansas Supreme Court struck down a state regulation that banned gay people and anyone living in a household with a gay adult from being foster parents. The court found that children are not harmed by living with gay or lesbian parents. The ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û brought the lawsuit against the state in 1999 on behalf of four prospective foster parents. "Throughout the trial we presented a variety of experts who proved that the state's justifications for this ban were nothing but baseless myths about gay people," said Leslie Cooper, a staff attorney with the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project.

Among the court's findings of fact:

• Being raised by gay parents doesn't increase the risk of psychological, behavioral, or academic problems for children.
• Children of lesbian and gay parents are just as well adjusted as children of straight parents.
• There is no factual basis for saying that heterosexual parents might be better able to guide children through adolescence than gay parents.
• There are no reasons that health, safety, or welfare of a foster child might be negatively impacted by living in a foster home where there is a gay person present.
• The blanket exclusion can hurt children by excluding a pool of effective foster parents.

Status: Victory! On June 29, 2006 the Arkansas Supreme Court upheld an earlier trial court decision overturning the ban.