Arizona Senate Bill 1399 has passed through a committee and will soon be voted on by the state Senate. It would allow adoption and foster care agencies to discriminate on the basis of religion. They could, for example, refuse to work with parents or children based on their race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.
Please take some time to reach out to your senator and urge a negative vote on this religious bigotry.
Handing religious groups a ticket to discriminate against LGBTQ families seeking adoption or foster care is morally reprehensible and inimical to the well-being of the hundreds of thousands of children currently in the foster care system. This comes on the heels of the Supreme Court decision, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, which allowed a Catholic agency to discriminate against same-sex couples. Recently, another agency cited this case in refusing to work with Jewish families.
Ultimately, the health and care of a child should be the only factor that a child welfare agency and its employees take into consideration — not advancing the bigoted agendas of state contractors promoting discriminatory dogma at the expense of children in need.
Talking Points
As your secular constituent, I am urging you to vote no on AZ SB 1399. This bill would make it legal for adoption or foster agencies to discriminate on the basis of religion. It would adversely affect LGBT families and religious minorities looking to adopt or foster, for example.
Denying a child a home based on someone else’s religious agenda is morally reprehensible and discriminatory, and should never be supported by state funding. Please vote “no” on SB 1399.
