On July 12, the House Appropriations Committee passed a funding bill with an amendment protecting religious adoption agencies from state laws that force them to place children with same-sex couples. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) denounced the congressional Republicans who voted for the bill, charging that they had fallen to a “sickening new low.” She insisted that the amendment could deny “tens of thousands of vulnerable children the opportunity to find a loving and safe home.” Representative Mark Pocan (D., Wis.) took his outrage to Twitter, insisting that “denying kids loving parents is wrong.”
There's no reason for Democrats to be so upset. The amendment won't stop me (or any other LGBT person) from adopting a child — but it will enable religious child-welfare agencies to help needy kids find a home. Religious people should be able to live by their convictions, just as I wish to honor mine.
Private adoption agencies have First Amendment rights, and their freedom of conscience should be respected, even when their beliefs are politically incorrect or downright discriminatory. Allowing a small number of religious agencies to operate within their belief system doesn't restrict the ability of gay Americans to adopt, because there are LGBT-friendly agencies all across the country, and there's no shortage of kids looking for new families.
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