More American.

Alexandria Sage of Reuters continues to report on the legal proceedings inside the San Francisco courtroom:

The final defense witness, David Blankenhorn of the conservative think tank Institute for American Values, began his testimony by asserting that the best environment for children is a marriage between a man and a woman.

"The optimal environment for children is if they're raised from birth by their own natural mother, who is married to their own natural father," the author told the court, citing the "weight of evidence" by scholars on the subject.

But under persistent and at time contentious cross-examination from veteran litigator David Boies, who helped launch the legal challenge to Proposition 8, Blankenhorn seemed to concede some points to gay marriage advocates.

"I believe that adopting same-sex marriage would be likely to improve the well-being of gay and lesbian households and their children," said Blankenhorn, who remained composed and deliberate in his answers.

'MORE AMERICAN'

He also said he believed the legal recognition of same-sex marriage in the United States would make the country "more American," without explaining further.

His testimony elicited sounds of surprise from the courtroom, where a number of gay couples were in attendance.

During the past two weeks, witnesses seeking to overturn Prop 8 have testified that same-sex couples can be good parents, that their health and wealth stands to improve when married -- benefiting the public at large -- and that gay men and lesbians have historically been persecuted.

MEANWHILE, down in Florida...

Baby Makes Three:

With the blessing of her large extended family, Vanessa Alenier took custody of an infant relative who had been seized by child welfare workers. She moved him into a yellow nursery with a blond wood crib, a blue-striped carpet and a mobile.

When she asked the state to for permission to adopt him, the application included a simple question.

Are you gay?

Alenier, 34, said she did not want to begin her journey as a parent with a lie. So she told the truth -- despite Florida's 33-year-old law banning gay men and lesbians from adopting.

Earlier this month -- as a Miami appeals court determines the constitutionality of the embattled adoption ban -- a judge quietly approved the 1-year-old's adoption. The decision by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Maria Sampedro-Iglesia is the third finalized adoption by a gay couple within the last year.