WASHINGTON >> The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a gay couple who want both of their names to appear on the Louisiana birth certificate of the child they adopted.

The court said Tuesday it won’t review a federal appeals court ruling against the adoptive parents. The appeals court ruled that the Louisiana registrar’s insistence that only one father’s name can go on the certificate does not violate the child’s right to equal protection under the law or deny legal recognition of the adoption by both men. The adoption occurred in New York, which allows same-sex couples to adopt.

Louisiana says its birth certificate policy reflects state law prohibiting adoption by unmarried couples, whether heterosexual or gay.