Anti-Gay Adoption Bill Struck Down In Illinois Senate

By Yasmin Nair, courtesy of the Windy City Times

SB 1993 was recently struck down in the Illinois Senate Human Services Committee. The bill would have allowed religious organizations to deny a child's adoption or foster care with a prospective parent if the adult practiced a different faith or are atheists or agnostics.

Civil- and LGBT-rights activists were concerned that this would also allow the organizations to deny adoptions to gays and lesbians if a particular religion deemed that their relationships went against the faith.

In Chicago, Ed Yohnka, director of communications and public policy for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois said, "It's good news for foster care in Illinois, it's good news for children who need a loving home that these private agencies that are conducting a state function can't discriminate against them in finding a loving home and that the primary interest that those agencies will take into consideration when deciding where to place these children will be: will they be safe and will they be happy -- not the sexual orientation or the religious background of the [ possible ] parent. That's really a victory for kids. We've got too many kids who've already need good homes, we don't need to start carving up the pool of potential foster parents or parents on the basic of ideology or bias."

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[BillOlson]

11:15 PM on 03/23/2011

The religious right trying to usurp constitutionally protected religious freedom to keep children in need from potential loving parents & homes. Sad... I'm glad they failed.

[emmeaki]

10:03 PM on 03/23/2011

The bill would have allowed religious organizations to deny a child's adoption or foster care with a prospective parent if the adult practiced a different faith.

Yeah, religious people are sooo tolerable!

[schlitzsky]

08:57 PM on 03/23/2011

BS headline as this had nothing to do with not allowing gays to adopt. Read the article, "The bill would have allowed religious organizations to deny a child's adoption or foster care with a prospective parent if the adult practiced a different faith or are atheists or agnostics." Didn't see anything except that gays thought it might apply to them.

[KDMac]

09:48 PM on 03/24/2011

I'll fan you for seeing through the HP agenda ; D

[Cliff Sjordal]

06:04 PM on 03/23/2011

Dear Friends,

People with the screen name Markrsm should not be able to adpot children unless they have a very strict screen process, as a much higher number of gays have major mental issues.

There....fixed.

BTW....here in the land of logic and reason there was a study done on lesbian parents and NOT ONE of the children that they were raising was being abused...not only that but the children scored HIGHER in all different kinds of testing and had NO social issues that often plague many other children.

Know this....you and your backwards archaic way of thinking is DYING OUT....and I will celebrate that day.

[Markrsm]

06:40 PM on 03/23/2011

Dear Cliff,

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2011/higher-risk-of-mental-health-problems-for-homosexuals/

Sorry but it is fact.

[Paul Conrad]

06:06 PM on 03/23/2011

Yeah, you hardly ever see straight people with drug or drinking issues.

[Markrsm]

06:40 PM on 03/23/2011

Dear Paul,

I said higher numbers, it is simple fact.

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2011/higher-risk-of-mental-health-problems-for-homosexuals/

[brushfinch]

05:42 PM on 03/23/2011

I am so proud of my state!!

[TeraWatt60]

05:16 PM on 03/23/2011

Bravo and Kudos Illinois!!! Freedom of Religion is fine but it should never be a license for big.otry , sectarianism and ho.mophobia  especially on the public dime

[MaryFrancie]

05:09 PM on 03/23/2011

Ahh, common sense reigns in my homestate!

[LittleMs Random]

05:02 PM on 03/23/2011

This made my day : )

[sfdcubfan]

03:55 PM on 03/23/2011

THANK YOU

[Puck342]

03:49 PM on 03/23/2011

This has definitely been one of the sexier Legislative sessions for the Illinois Legislature, let's hope they keep the pace up!

[Paul Conrad]

03:33 PM on 03/23/2011

Good! Let's leave the right wing hate for Wisconsin.

[my2cnts]

03:01 PM on 03/23/2011

Illinios abortion billput in front of AGRICULTURAL COMMITTEE!


ACLU to protest Senger bill
Sun Staff Mar 23, 2011 2:22AM
http://napervillesun.suntimes.com/news/4459659-418/aclu-to-protest-senger-bill.html
Members of the ACLU plan a protest in front of state Rep. Darlene Senger’s Naperville office Wednesday in response to what they call her attempt to “regulate abortion out of existence in this state.”
Senger sponsored a bill that would require abortion clinics to be retrofitted to resemble outpatient surgery centers, meaning equipment such as defibrillators and ventilators would be required and hallway and parking lot dimensions would change.
By a 13-0 vote, before a packed room of angry abortion rights supporters clad in “Women are not livestock” T-shirts and buttons emblazoned with a cow, the House Agricultural Committee advanced legislation that would put new financial burdens on abortion clinics.
The Agriculture Committee, stocked mainly by socially conservative Democrats and Republicans from downstate, has been the conduit to get gun-rights and anti-abortion legislation to the House floor for years.
“We ought to be calling ‘shame, shame, shame’ on Representative Senger and the members of the Agriculture Committee, who may have expertise in regulating muskrats and fertilizer and heifers and roadkill. But women, I respectfully submit, are not livestock,” Colleen Connell told the panel. Connell is the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.
Senger, whose bill now moves to the House floor, and ..(read LINK for rest of article)

[Mao Meow2]

01:44 PM on 03/23/2011

Gays should be able to adopt children just like everyone else. But...and I know some people will disagree with this, but gay babies should only be raised by gay parents so that they're able to learn their culture and not feel like outsiders. The reality is that people and especially other children can be cruel. If a straight couple is in a restaurant with a gay baby or visa versa then people are going to stare.

[LilithV]

02:00 PM on 03/23/2011

And how exactly would you determine that a BABY is gay?

[LittleMs Random]

05:00 PM on 03/23/2011

Oh, yeah, we'll just ask as they come out of the womb which gender they prefer. I am quite positive that anyone that can pick out a gay baby to stare at can find much better uses of their time. How does one spot a gay or straight baby on sight? A refusal to wear anything but designer onesies?

[Anthony DeSoren]

07:02 PM on 03/23/2011

Reminds me of the Monty Python skit were the mother asks it the baby is a boy or girl and the doctor admonishes the mother.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcHdF1eHhgc

[Ice woman]

01:17 PM on 03/23/2011

Yes! Way to go, my homestate!

There's already way too many children trapped in the system and not being adopted because of their age, their race, their gender. I feel that as long as the person isn't evil or perverted or just want to hurt children. If they can, they should be able to adopt!

[Matt Roberson]

12:41 PM on 03/23/2011

I'm a non believer. Should someone come take my kid from me? I'll warn ya - she's can be a real handful, whether you've got god on your side or not.

[KDMac]

09:55 PM on 03/24/2011

No, but I don't see a problem with religious organizations wanting to help religious people adopt. Let non-religious people go through state agencies. Kinda like churches marry people who are religious and JPs marry people who are not religious. JMO.