Galluccios expect second joint adoption

Daily Advocate
May 17, 1999

A gay couple from Bergen County, N.J., who helped pioneer the right for same-sex and unmarried couples to jointly adopt children in New Jersey is seeking to jointly adopt a second child. The couple said Friday they expect to gain approval to adopt their second foster child, 2-year-old Madison, at a hearing Monday before state superior court judge Sybil R. Moses. In October 1997, Moses permitted the Maywood men, Jon Holden and Michael Galluccio, to jointly adopt their first child, Adam, who is now 3. The men had cared for him since he was 3 months old. Later that year Moses approved a settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought by gay couples against the state. The men have been known as Jon and Michael Galluccio since their union was blessed in an Episcopal ceremony last June. Jon, 35, and Michael, 37, have been together for more than 17 years. The Galluccios began caring for Madison when she was less than 3 months old. She was born addicted to heroin and tested HIV-positive.