Victory in Virginia: after state officials blocked her from adopting because she is a lesbian, Linda Kaufman took on the system--and won. (Behind the Headlines).

Ten years ago Linda Kaufman adopted a 5-year-old boy who lived in the District of Columbia. But when Kaufman, an Episcopal priest who works with the Department of Mental Health in Washington, D.C., decided in 1999 to adopt a second child, the state of Virginia denied her application solely on the grounds that she is a lesbian. Now, thanks to an August 14 settlement in the lawsuit she filed against the state, Kaufman--who lives in Arlington, Va., with her partner, Lianne Rozell, and their now-15-year-old son--can adopt another child. Virginia officials also agreed to stop considering sexual orientation in adoption proceedings. The advocate spoke to Kaufman about the victory.

What sparked your lawsuit?

We put in an application [for adoption] in 1999. We were assigned a social worker who said that based on what her pastor said, we would go to hell because we were homosexuals. Obviously, we weren't going to get her recommendation. I decided that I wasn't going to roll over. I've done work with the Washington, D.C., homeless, and I could see how great the needs were for adopting kids. The state wasn't just hurting me, it was hurting these kids who needed a home.

As an Episcopal priest, you must have been shocked by the social worker's words.

I look at the Bible as inclusive and not proscriptive. I love God and scripture, and if you have studied it for as long as I have, you will find that it is welcoming and affirming, not exclusionary.

You lived in Virginia in 1992, when you adopted your son. Did you encounter any resistance then?

None whatsoever.

What do you think the difference was between then and when you applied to adopt a second child in 1999?

How do I say this without getting in trouble with my lawyer? In 1992 [Gov. L. Douglas] Wilder was in office--a fairly liberal Democrat. [In 1999] a Republican was in the governor's office.

What was the key to the settlement?

The experts looked at my family and found it would not be such a bad place to raise a child, and that's the view that prevailed. Again, I don't know if this has anything to do with it or not, but it's interesting to note that a Democrat is in [the governor's] office now.

Is popular opinion against gay adoption?

I wish people could step back and realize that a loving family, no matter what kind, is better than none. I'm white, and my 15-year-old is African-American. As a white woman adopting a black child, I realized that a honky family, so to speak, is better than no family. That's a bigger issue than sexual orientation.

Now gay adoption has a celebrity advocate in Rosie O'Donnell.

She is a wonderful advocate for our cause. There is a great book by May Sarton, The Education of Harriet Hatfield, in which a middle-aged woman realizes she has nothing to lose by coming out as a lesbian and that she has a responsibility to educate others. This must have been how Rosie felt. I know it's how I feel. I live in Arlington, a very safe place. I work in D.C., where there is an antidiscrimination law. If I'm not willing to take this risk, why would anybody?

How is your 15-year-old taking all of this?

When I first told him I was going to sue the state, he said, "How much money will we get?" I explained it wasn't that kind of a suit and that if we won, he would get the younger brother he's always wanted.

Do you have a particular child in mind?

No, because we didn't know when this issue would be resolved. We didn't want to put a child through such uncertainty. Now that we've been assured our application will be fairly considered, we're going to move forward.