Gov. Rick Snyder
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed a bill into law that allows religious-affiliated adoption agencies to discriminate.
The LGBT community was the obvious target, but the broad wording allows for all sorts of discrimination. Adoptive parents could be denied access to services based on their religion, race or any other trait an agency decides is not to their liking, despite receiving state funding. Straight unmarried couples and singles may also be targets of religious bigots.
“We’re deeply disappointed that Governor Snyder signed this dangerous legislation,” said Rana Elmir, ACLU of Michigan deputy director. “We are developing a lawsuit with our Muslim, Jewish, Christian and LGBTQ partners.”
Democrats tried to tack amendments onto the bill, but they all failed. Among them were proposals to force agencies that were going to discriminate to disclose their policies and limit the law to agencies that receive under $500,000 from the state. They also tried to pass second-parent adoptions for unmarried couples, which is currently not available in the state. That failed as well.
A similar measure failed to pass in the Texas Legislature despite repeated attempts by its author, Rep. Scott Sanford, R-McKinney.