Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer has signed a new bill allowing faith-based adoption agencies to turn away prospective parents for not aligning with "sincerely held religious beliefs” - a move expected to impact members of the LGBTIQ+ community.
“What I want Kansans to know is this is about fairness and that we are protecting everyone,” Colyer said after signing the bill into law.
He continued: “It’s not about discrimination, it’s about fairness. We’re looking after those kids that need a forever home.”
However, local LGBTIQ+ organisations and adoption agencies were quick to hit back, labeling the bill "unfair".
“It is completely unfair that those same people who are going to be discouraged from fostering and adopting are going to be paying taxes into the state that are going to be used to pay agencies to do work that would discriminate against them,” Lori Ross, founder and CEO of FosterAdopt Connect, told Kansas newspaper The Wichita Eagle.
She continued: “There’s nobody, myself included, that says a religious-based organisation doesn’t have a right to practice whatever their deeply held religious beliefs are. When it becomes a problem is when public dollars are being used to fund a service.”
The Human Rights Campaign condemned the move, saying it would "harm the kids, families and reputation" of Kansas.
“Kansas now joins Oklahoma as the only states to allow anti-LGBTQ state bills to become law this year,” said JoDee Winterhof, HRC's senior vice president of policy and political affairs, in a statement.
She added: “Kansas lawmakers, from the legislature to the governor, are clearly stating that it is more important to them to discriminate against their own constituents than it is to find loving homes for children in need."
