Deadline Nears for Bob McDonnell to Show Whether He Really Cares About Children

Virginia Governor Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell - McDonnell earned the nickname during the equivalent of the lynching of former Circuit Court Judge Verbena Askew, a black woman rumored to, gasp, be a lesbian - has until this coming Saturday to provide input to the board of the Virginia Department of Social Services concerning proposed regulations that would (1) for the first time clearly allow same sex couples to adopt in Virginia and (2) require private adoption agencies acting on behalf of the Commonwealth to cease discriminating against gays and others they deem sinners. My money remains on McDonnell knuckling under to the Nazi like Victoria Cobb at The Family Foundation and religious whack jobs at Liberty University and Regent University and throwing children in need of stable, loving homes under the bus. With McDonnell, his first and foremost priority is obeying his Christofascist puppet masters. I'd love to be pleasantly surprised, but will not be holding my breath. Here are highlights from MetroWeekly:
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On April 20-21, the Virginia State Board of Social Services will meet to consider "adopting new standards for licensed private child-placing agencies," which would allow same-sex couples to adopt children in the state for the first time.
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According to the Family Equality Council, this change could be helpful for Virginia children because of the state’s poor record in the area of adoption. According to the organization, "Virginia has the unique distinction of ranking first among the states in the percentage of youth who age out of foster care each year (32%)."
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The regulations, which were supported by former Gov. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), now face tentative opposition from Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-Va.).
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McDonnell has until April 16 to offer his formal recommendation to the Board, which is a nine-member body of appointees who serve four-year terms. According to the Post, a majority of the Board is made up of Kaine appointees. The governor's approaching deadline and the upcoming Board meeting have led LGBT organizations to begin campaigns urging that the regulations be allowed to go into effect.
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[T]he Family Equality Council launched a web ad on April 12 that calls on supporters of the proposal to click and sign an online petition demanding that McDonnell and the Board enact the proposed regulations. On the website that contains the petition, the group states, "In 2009 there were 6700 kids in foster care in the state of Virginia. While 663 children from foster care were ultimately placed with adoptive families, by year's end 1,612 kids available for adoption were still waiting for permanent families of their own."
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The far right whines about children needing parents, but it's that group's religious based bigotry and desire to stigmatize gays that are the sole reason same sex couple adoption is an issue. McDonnell needs to decide whether he puts the needs of children first or the hate and bigotry of the hate merchants at The Family Foundation and elsewhere. You can send Taliban Bob a message here.