ILLINOIS: GOP Sneaks Anti-Gay Adoption Provision Into Bill For The Blind

Illinois Republicans have quietly added an anti-gay adoption amendment into a bill to assist the blind. Windy City Times reports:

An amendment to a proposed bill in the Illinois Senate states that "a child welfare agency that is religiously based or owned by, operated by, or affiliated with a bona fide religious organization may decline an adoption or foster family home application … from a party to a civil union if acceptance of that application would constitute a violation of the organization's sincerely held religious beliefs." SB 1123, the bill including this amendment No. 65, means that unmarried straight or gay couples in civil unions who do not share the religious values or faith of the organization could be denied the chance to adopt or be foster parents.

The Human Rights Campaign reacts:

“With so many children in the foster care system who need a loving home, it is unfathomable that lawmakers would add an amendment to a bill limiting the number of families available to them,” said HRC Family Project Director Ellen Kahn. “Child welfare experts agree that adoptive parents should be judged by their character and their ability to raise a child, not on their sexual orientation. The fact that lawmakers tried to hide this amendment within a bill that has nothing to do with adoption suggests that even they know it’s not in the best interest of Illinois’ children.”