Rep. Scott Sanford, R-McKinney.
Rep. Scott Sanford, R-McKinney, pre-filed an amendment once again allowing child welfare organizations, including those with state contracts, to discriminate against LGBT families and children.
This is Sanford’s latest attempt to allow child welfare providers to discriminate against LGBT people as well as those of other faiths, interfaith couples and anyone else to whom a provider objects for religious reasons.
After his bill, HB 3864, died, he initially filed it as an amendment to SB 206, by Rep. Cindy Burkett, R-Mesquite, reauthorizing the Department of Family and Protective Services. That attempt failed after a representative killed it via a technical tactic. He also failed again to attach it as an amendment on Sunday, May 24.
In an action alert Equality Texas called it a cynical “Indiana-style RFRA for child welfare service providers that allows tax-payer dollars to be used to deny services to LGBT families.”
Additionally opponents have raised concern it would weaken the pool of qualified applicants and authorize child welfare service providers to force LGBT minors into widely discredited “reparative therapy” programs to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.
