Home News Franken and McCollum introduce bill to bar discrimination in adoption and foster care

Franken and McCollum introduce bill to bar discrimination in adoption and foster care

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Franken and McCollum introduce bill to bar discrimination in adoption and foster care
David Iliff, Wikipedia Commons
David Iliff, Wikipedia Commons

Sen. Al Franken and Rep. Betty McCollum are among 48 House members and 12 Senators that introduced the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, a bill that would eliminate laws that exclude LGBTQ people from adopting. It was introduced on May 25.

The bill comes as a rash of laws have been popping up in Republican-controlled states that allow adoption agencies to refuse to place children in LGBTQ homes. Michigan passed such a law in 2015. South Dakota passed such a bill earlier this year, as did Alabama. A similar bill is pending in Texas and awaiting Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature.

The Every Child Deserves a Family Act states, in part:

An entity that receives Federal assistance or contracts with an entity that receives Federal assistance, and is involved in adoption or foster care placements may not— (A) deny to any person the opportunity to become an adoptive or a foster parent on the basis of the sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status of the person, or the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child involved; (B) delay or deny the placement of a child for adoption or into foster care on the basis of the sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status of any prospective adoptive or foster parent, or the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child; or (C) require different or additional screenings, processes, or procedures for adoptive or foster placement decisions on the basis of the sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status of the prospective adoptive or foster parent, or the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child involved.

The full House version is available here, and the full Senate version is available here.

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Andy Birkey has written for a number of Minnesota and national publications. He founded Eleventh Avenue South which ran from 2002-2011, wrote for the Minnesota Independent from 2006-2011, the American Independent from 2010-2013. His writing has appeared in The Advocate, The Star Tribune, The Huffington Post, Salon, Cagle News Service, Twin Cities Daily Planet, TheUptake, Vita.mn and much more. His writing on LGBT issues, the religious right and social justice has won awards including Best Beat Reporting by the Online News Association, Best Series by the Minnesota chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and an honorable mention by the Sex-Positive Journalism awards.

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