(Little Rock, Arkansas) A judge has ruled that that a lawsuit challenging an Arkansas law banning unmarried couples from becoming foster or adoptive parents can proceed -  and that the conservative group behind the measure can present arguments in the case.

County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza dismissed a motion by Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel to dismiss the suit. Piazza then accepted an application by  the Arkansas Family Council to enter the case.

The council was behind the successful ballot measure past last November that bans unmarried couples from adopting or fostering. The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas filed suit, challenging the constitutionality of the law on behalf of a dozen families, some straight, some gay.

See Anti-gay group allowed to enter Arkansas adoption case

365Gay.com 

erry Cox doesn’t need flashy campaigns or a lot of money to “blunt the homosexual agenda” in Arkansas. He’s done it twice, and all he needs is a ballot box and a church bulletin insert.

Cox is president of the Arkansas Family Council, a relatively small religious organization that is dedicated to, among other things, thwarting civil rights for gay people. The Arkansas Family Council won an unexpected success for social conservatives on Nov. 4 when 57 percent of the state’s voters approved the “Arkansas Adoption and Foster Care Act,” a measure that banned unmarried couples from adopting or fostering children. The measure applies regardless of sexual orientation, but was designed to target gay couples.See Ark. adoption ban could start national trend, activists fear Sovo.com