In re Adoption of C.C.G

1 This is an appeal from the June 18, 1999 order entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Erie County denying Appellants J.C.G.'s and J.J.G.'s petition for adoption of C.C.G. and Z.C.G. (hereinafter, referred to as the children). We find that Appellants have not met the requirements of the Adoption Act, as promulgated by the Pennsylvania legislature, and, therefore, we affirm. 2 The relevant facts and procedural history are as follows: Appellants, a homosexual couple, have been domestic partners since 1982. On October 24, 1991, J.J.G. legally adopted C.C.G., and on April 21, 1999, J.J.G. legally adopted Z.C.G. On June 5, 1998, Appellant J.C.G. legally changed his last name to that of Appellant J.J.G. On May 6, 1999, Appellants filed a petition pursuant to the Adoption Act, 23 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 2101-2910, wherein J.C.G. sought to adopt the children. The trial court issued an order on June 18, 1999 denying the adoption petition, and on July 15, 1999, Appellants filed a motion requesting the trial court to rescind its June 18, 1999 order. The trial court affirmed its order on July 19, 1999, and this timely appeal followed. The trial court ordered Appellants to file a Concise Statement of the Matters Complained of on Appeal pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b), such a statement was filed, and the trial court filed a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a) opinion. The appeal then proceeded to oral argument before an en banc panel of this Court.