A Florida House committee passed a bill yesterday that would allow any private adoption agency to discriminate against prospective parents based on sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as family status and religious or political beliefs.
As Equality Florida notes, the state already has a bill that allows faith-based organizations to cite their religious beliefs in choosing to offer (or not) adoption and other services. This new bill, the “Conscience Protection for Private Child-Placing Agencies,” extends that right to both secular and religious institutions, and further restricts the possibility that children will find a good home:
The bill strips prospective parents of legal recourse if they’ve been discriminated against, and prohibits the state from withholding taxpayer money from discriminatory agencies. One of the cruelest measures embedded in the bill would allow agencies to refuse to place foster children with members of their extended families based on their marital situation, sexual orientation, gender identity or religion. A loving, unmarried grandparent, for example, or a stable, welcoming relative of a different faith could be deemed unsuitable under the proposed law.
Amidst all of this, one thing that warmed my heart was to see 10-year-old Nathaniel Gill, son of Martin Gill, the plaintiff who overturned Florida’s ban on adoption by gay men and lesbians in 2010, testifying to the House committee. The chair cuts him off in the video below, but you can see his entire testimony told just to the camera here.
If you live in Florida (or even if you don’t), you can contact Florida House members and tell them not to support this bill, HB7111. Equality Florida has the vote count from the committee.