The mere existence of a factual dispute will not automatically necessitate denial; rather, only factual disputes that are material preclude entry of summary judgment.

—it held that "it is a strained and ultimately incorrect reading of Lawrence to interpret it to announce a new fundamental right" when the Lawrence opinion "contains virtually no inquiry into the question of whether the petitioners' asserted right is one of those fundamental rights and liberties which are, objectively, deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition and implicit …

—upholding constitutionality of Florida prohibition on adoption of children by Apracticing@ homosexuals

In the wake of Lawrence, other courts have considered the appropriate standard of review for assessing sexual orientation challenges.

The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently upheld the law, declining to extend Lawrence.

Our conclusion here, that plaintiffs have not established that they are members of a suspect class, accords with the decisions of the overwhelming majority of courts, which find that gay and lesbian persons do not constitute a suspect class.

A plain-speaking law, Florida statute provides that "[n] o person eligible to adopt under this statute may adopt if that person is a homosexual." Fla. Stat. Ann. § 63.042 (3)(West 2005).

Code Ann.'93-17-3 (2)(2004)(prohibiting A [a] doption by couples of the same gender@); Utah Code Ann.'78-30-1 (3)(b)(2002)(prohibiting adoption Aby a person who is cohabiting in a relationship that is not a legally valid and binding marriage@).

If the state' s view is that gay people do not make as good parents as non-gay people, surely that would be reflected in the law concerning children who are wards of the state

This belief also forms a basis on which a federal court of appeals upheld Florida' s statute banning adoptions by gays and lesbians, even in the face of evidence that the ban delays adoptions and that many gay and lesbian foster parents have performed their childrearing responsibilities in an exemplary fashion

[CITATION] Ninth Annual Review of Gender and Sexuality Law

[CITATION] Southern California Review of Law and Women's Studies

[BOOK] Research handbook on gender, sexuality and the law