Montgomery's medieval view of modern gay families

It shouldn't surprise us that Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery isn't going out of his way to help same sex couples with adoptions.

It shouldn't surprise us that Montgomery's view of modern families, in all their diversity, is off by a few centuries, as seems to be the case in an article by The Arizona Republic's Michael Kiefer.

It shouldn't surprise us that even though same sex couples can marry in Arizona, and can adopt children, that Montgomery doesn't offer them the same free assistance that his office offers to heterosexual couples.

Montgomery's views about this are fairly clear.

Keifer's article describes a married couple living here in which one of the two women has a biological child by way of artificial insemination. Now, her partner wants to go through a process called "stepparent" adoption, in which a person adopts his or her spouse's biological child.

The county helps heterosexual couples with this. But apparently not gay couples.

Montgomery says the law won't allow him to do so, writing to the couple, "The 9th Circuit ruling addressing the issuance of marriage certificates does not, on its face, affect the adoption statutes."

The couple, one of whom is a lawyer, disagrees. But Montgomery will only help gay couples when he is convinced the law forces him to do.

That shouldn't surprise us.

Montgomery is among a small group of advisers thought to be new Gov. Doug Ducey's "kitchen cabinet." Among them is Center for Arizona Policy President Cathi Herrod, local power broker and once the most staunch supporter of the anti-gay SB 1062, which former Gov. Jan Brewer thankfully vetoed (saving Arizona from the national embarrassment Indiana just went through.)

Ducey and this group are the people Montgomery has hitched the wagon of his political ambitions.

During the gubernatorial campaign Ducey's said that he would follow the law, but that he wasn't in favor of gay marriage. He said he wasn't in favor of extending the same anti-discrimination protections to the LGBT community that the rest of us enjoyed based on gender, age, race, religion or national origin.

Montgomery backed Ducey.

He is part of Ducey's inner circle, a tight group. Picture them inside a medieval castle.

A castle with a moat around it.

And the draw bridge pulled up.

And pots of boiling oil on the ramparts, ready to be tipped over should any gays families storm the fortress.