Republican Senator William Ligon introduced Senate Bill 375 aka Keep Faith in Adoption and Foster Care Act earlier this month.
The bill allows adoption agencies to deny placing children with same-sex couples based on their religious beliefs. It also prevent the state’s Department of Human Services from taking ‘adverse actions’ against agencies if they do this.
On Tuesday (20 February) morning, the Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill.
Ligon argued the bill allows for more adoption opportunities.
Democratic Senator Elena Parent disagreed: ‘It seems like the bill is dealing with problems that do not exist, although it might make people feel better.’
She added religious adoption agencies in Georgia already have the right to refuse same-sex couples.
‘The legislation puts the religious beliefs of those who serve kids above the kids themselves, and that’s why I have a particular problem with this.’
Parent and fellow Democratic Senator Harold V. Jones were the only ‘no’ votes.
The bill now heads to the full Senate for a vote.
Equality Georgia called the bill a ‘license to discriminate’.
Executive Director Jeff Graham added there are ‘no winners’.
He continued: ‘This bill does not help the thousands of young people in our state’s adoption and foster care system. It does not help loving parents who are looking to open their homes to children in need, either through fostering or adoption.
‘There are only losers with this bill: children denied permanent and loving homes, and potential parents coldly turned away simply because of who they are.’
State businesses are also speaking out against the bill.
Cindy Armine-Klein, CCO of Atlanta’s First Data, released a statement saying the company is ‘strongly opposed’ to the bill because it ‘perpetuates discrimination against the LGBT community’.
This bill is the latest assault against the LGBT community in the United States that’s rooted in religion.
This is what's tops on the GOP's political agenda... the right to discriminate.
It's not about wedding cakes or floral arrangement's, it's about legalizing discrimination under the guise of state sanctioned religious persecution.
They aren't just voicing a opinion or agreeing to disagree, they are actively seeking to legislate the denial of rights based solely on a religious belief, forcing their opinion into very real laws.
In the end, who really suffers most from this?
1 comment:
There are entirely too many blue-nosed religious fanatics in this country and many of them are in state and federal legislatures. If we don't vote some of them out pretty soon they will continue to pass anti-LGBT legislation restricting more and more of whatever rights we have now. Republicans really hate the LGBT community and they will do whatever they feel is necessary to get rid of us all. As Trump would say.."SAD!"
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