Virginian Pilot Slams Opponents of Gay Adoption

In a move that I applaud - even I'm admittedly a bit surprised by it - the Virginian Pilot's main editorial today takes to task The Family Foundation, Bob McDonnell, Ken Cuccinelli, Bob Marshall and others who would maintain anti-gay bigotry in Virginia's adoption regulations. The Pilot also correctly states that those who want tax dollars have to make a choice: either cease discriminating against tax paying citizens or give up the public money. You do not get to have it both ways. It's a theme I agree with 100% and advocate for often. Private and religious organizations can do what they wish until they accept that first tax dollar. Then the rules change. No one forces them to act as agents of the Commonwealth and if they decide to do so, banning religious based discrimination is the price these organizations have to pay to be on the public tit. The whines and shrieks of discrimination against those who want to in fact practice discrimination themselves is a lie and the Pilot calls them out. Here are some editorial highlights:
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Religious groups and a state delegate have stirred up a flurry of misinformation regarding a proposed change to state adoption regulations.
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They argue the revision would permit gay couples to adopt children in Virginia. The assertion is patently false, and it raises questions about why they would argue otherwise.
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Officials with the Virginia Department of Social Services and its governing board say the reference to sexual orientation clarifies the existing right of an individual who is gay to adopt a child as a single person. Some social conservatives may want to bar such adoptions, but the General Assembly rejected a blanket ban in 2005.
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Comments filed with the Department of Social Services suggest that some religious organizations, however, are now turning away prospective parents based on sexual orientation, whether real or perceived.
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Allowing religious organizations to discriminate in privately funded adoptions may be an appropriate accommodation of religious freedom, and the practice is not prohibited under federal law, but subsidizing those groups with tax dollars is an unnecessary and avoidable advancement of faith.
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Gov. Bob McDonnell contributed to confusion over the regulations by expressing sympathy for opponents without contradicting their misrepresentations, even though they have been rebutted by members of his own administration.
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The governor has stated that he prefers to retain existing adoption regulations, but doing so would preserve the current ambiguity about public funding for discriminatory practices.
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McDonnell should acknowledge that this is as much a battle over state money as it is about gay rights. And he should make sure every adoption agency understands that if they don't like the rules, they'll have to do without taxpayer dollars.