Adam Ebbin Pushes Gay Adoption Bill In Virginia General Assembly

UPDATED: Senator McEachin has introduced a counterpart bill to Ebbin's bill in the Virginia Senate.I'd love to seem them pass, but with the GOP majority in the House of Delegates and a tie in the Senate, I sadly am not optimistic.

Adam Ebbin, the lone openly gay member of the Virginia General Assembly, most at times feel like Don Quixote as he tries to bring rationality, not to mention, LGBT equality to the decidedly backwards thinking Neanderthal GOP ranks in the the General Assembly. Sadly, most of the GOP members prefer to mindlessly pandering to Bible beaters, thinly disguised white supremacists and neo-Nazi types. The Founding Fathers from Virginia must be rolling over in their graves over how low the General Assembly has sunk and the level of ignorance that passes for intelligence in GOP circles. Despite all of this, Ebbin has introduced a bill that would bar the Commonwealth from contracting with adoption and foster care agencies that discriminate based on sexual orientation and numerous other attributes. Not surprisingly, Republican have introduced bills to further legalize anti-gay (and other) discrimination in an already extremely anti-gay state. Here are highlights on the legislative jousting:

A battle over whether child-placement agencies should be allowed to discriminate against prospective parents and children based on their sexual orientation has moved to the General Assembly.

Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, has introduced legislation that would bar Virginia from contracting with or funding agencies that discriminate against children or otherwise eligible prospective foster or adoptive parents solely on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, family status, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Virginia Board of Social Services last month finalized regulations that strip out protections against discrimination based on personal factors, including gender, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and family status. They are to take effect May 1.

[T]he Virginia ACLU and other groups had opposed the change, saying that Virginia should keep the protections in place because state-licensed child-placement groups serve a governmental function — and thus cannot discriminate against prospective parents or children. Catholic groups and other organizations backed the removal, framing it as an issue of religious freedom.

Sen. Jeffrey McWaters and Del. Todd Gilbert have introduced so-called "conscience clause" bills that would reinforce the Department of Social Services regulations and protect private, faith-based child-placement agencies. . . . . Gilbert, R-Woodstock, who said he introduced the legislation on behalf of the Virginia Family Foundation, a conservative Christian group, to protect faith-based agencies.

[A]dvocates also have expressed concern that a large number of young people in the foster care system are gay or lesbian, and unless the state adopts a law that bars discrimination they could be denied services based on their sexual orientation, compounding the difficulties they already face in finding permanent homes. "Every child deserves a loving home, and children who have been denied a loving home based on who they are deserve a chance to grow up as much as any other child," Ebbin said.

Ebbin acknowledges the tough road ahead for his legislation, but he says it's essential to work for "an enlightened policy" that provides for the placement of children in permanent homes, based on what's best for the child. "I don't understand people who would believe it is better for a child to cry him or herself to sleep in an orphanage rather than having a loving home, whatever the orientation of the parents," he said.

Frankly, until the foul stench known as The Family Foundation is eradicated from Virginia, don't expect Virginia to move into the 21st Century. Hate, bigotry, lots of sanctimonious false piety, and the open embrace of ignorance are the hallmarks The Family Foundation. The Southern Poverty Law Center ought to add the organization to its list of registered hate groups.