With a vote of 87-0, the Alabama House of Representatives voted to allow “religious” adoption agencies to refuse to place homeless children with LGBT parents. Four representatives abstained, including Rep. Patricia Todd, who is lesbian.
“This bill obviously came about because same-sex marriage was approved,” Todd told Al.com. “It’s based in a stereotype. And it’s wrong. And we shouldn’t discriminate and I will always fight that.”
In a report released in 2014, Alabama ranked 50th as the state with the most homeless children per capita with 37,816 kids needing homes. That was down from the year before when more than 50,000 kids needed homes, according to the Montgomery Advertiser.
Compare that to Texas, which usually has more than 70,000 children needing homes at any one time. What keeps Texas from ranking last is its much larger population.
Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill into law. Ivey became governor in April when Gov. Robert Bentley resigned amid a sex scandal and the threat of impeachment.
“This bill is not about discrimination, but instead protects the ability of religious agencies to place vulnerable children in a permanent home,” Ivey said.
Yes. Unfortunately there aren’t enough good Christians providing the type of homes lawmakers and Ivey imagine, so her new law insures more kids will remain homeless in Alabama.