The Kansas House on Thursday rejected a bill that seeks to allow adoption and foster care agencies to refuse placements to gay and lesbian couples.
According to The Kansas City Star, the House voted down the bill with a 58-64 vote just hours after the Senate approved the bill 28-12. Lawmakers from the House and Senate will negotiate a final conference committee version of the bill.
Senator Barbara Bollier, a Republican from Mission Hills, called the bill “sick discrimination.”
“And these are people who can love and adopt children and are doing so. So to say it is not discriminatory, I beg to differ,” she said.
Senate President Susan Wagle, a Republican from Wichita, disagreed, saying that the legislation was the “right thing to do.”
Supporters of such bills argue that protecting religiously affiliated agencies would increase the number of child placements.
Gina Meier-Hummel, who leads the Kansas Department for Children and Families, has indicated her support for the measure. She has also promised that her agency will not discriminate.
by Carlos Santoscoy
Source – On Top Magazine
