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A gay man who has been fighting the state over his right to adopt two foster children in his care may soon be a legal father. Governor Charlie Crist said today he no longer opposes gays adopting, and the governor could end the existing lawsuit if he chooses.

Florida is the only state in the country that prohibits gays from adopting. In 2008 Martin Gill won a lawsuit saying his equal protect rights were being denied because he could not adopt. An appeals court has been sitting on the case for more than a  year. Governor Charlie Crist once opposed gay adoption, but no longer does. He was asked if he has changed his position. He responded:  “Not really. It’s more of an appropriate evolution. As most of us learn in life, the older you become the more tolerate you become, the less judgmental you are”.

The Department of Children and Families, which reports to Crist, could..if it wanted to…drop its legal opposition to the ban on gay adoptions. “I want to review it before I make that call,” says Crist.

So far the state has spent almost 4 hundred thousand dollars defending the ban. One estimate suggests that by allowing gays to adopt, Florida could save more than three million dollars a year in Foster care costs.

The question is whether the Governor lets the case wind it’s way through the courts, or drops the appeal of the finding the law is unconstitutional. Either way, Alex Sink says if she is elected, Gays will be able to adopt.  “Every case should be evaluated individually, and it should be left to the experts who know most intimately about that child’s well being, and the judge. There should be no discrimination,” says Sink.

For Martin Gill, who still is caring for the foster children he wants to adopt, the answer could not come soon enough. DCF Secretary George Sheldon said late Tuesday that a final determination by a court of last resort, such as the Florida Supreme Court, would be in the best interests of Florida’s children. Some 850 children are eligible to be adopted in Florida.