Indiana-Style Discrimination in Florida?
Posted April 6, 2015 06:55 am | 1 comment
TALLAHASSEE,
FL - Only weeks after the Florida House of
Representatives overturned a ban on gay adoptions, that
same branch of government is trying to pass a law that
grants private adoption agencies the right to steer
children away from same-sex couples based on religious
beliefs.
The so-called "Conscience Protection" bill is sponsored by state Representative Jason Brodeur (R-Sanford), who wants to protect religious freedom and says it holds up constitutionally.
"Homosexuals are not a protected class, they're not a
suspect class, they're not a quasi-suspect class," says
Brodeur. "They're a rational basis class, which receives
the lowest level of scrutiny and certainly
discrimination involving religion receives a much higher
level. So, it has been upheld that this should be a good
constitutional case."
Critics say the bill is designed to discriminate against
same-sex couples wishing to adopt. Several of them stood
up against the law during discussion in the House
Judiciary Committee last week and said it was designed
to echo Indiana's controversial Religious Freedom
Restoration Act.
State Representative Dave Kerner(D-Lake Worth)
represented the opposition, filing an amendment designed
to gut its religious provisions.
"If you're an adoption agency that is going to
discriminate against people with different sexual
orientations than you, then get the heck out of that
business," Kerner says. "The answer isn't to legislate
discrimination. This is 2015. It has got to stop at some
point."
Despite objections, the committee approved the bill and
is now ready for a vote by the full House. The good news
for opponents, the legislation has no sponsor in the
Florida Senate and thus isn't likely to become law
before the session ends in four weeks.
Photos/graphics; links; added by the Observer
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