Religious Adoption Agencies In Virgnia Will Not Be Forced To Adopt To Gay Couples After State Board Rightly Rejects Such Proposed Changes To The Law

The Washington Times reports that "faith-based adoption agencies in Virginia will not be required to allow gay individuals to use their services, after the State Board of Social Services on Wednesday rejected proposed changes to the rules governing adoption and foster case agencies. State law allows gay individuals to adopt or become foster parents of children, but adoption agencies are also allowed to reject their applications based on individuals’ sexual orientation... Chris Freund, a spokesman for the Family Foundation, applauded the board’s decision, saying it protects the freedoms of faith-based charities like the Catholic Charities Diocese of Arlington. 'Most of them would have chosen to close down rather than basically be forced to violate their principles,' Mr. Freund said."

This is a victory for proponents of common sense everywhere. Attempts to force religious adoption agencies to adopt to gay couples or else be closed down have already happened elsewhere (see http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/191kgwgh.asp or http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11019895), and its gone even farther in Britain with a couple blocked from becoming foster parents because they were traditional conservative Christians (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-12598896). The fact that those pushing for gay adoption seem to be fine with openly making regulations that go so far as to drive religious organizations out of the adoption business is definitely something that is troubling. The State Board did the right thing by not allowing this kind of a change in Virginia.

The issue here is a simple one. It is that certain adoption agencies of a more traditionalist persuasion do not as a matter of policy adopt out to gay couples. These include such potential organizations such as Catholic Charities or Jewish Family Services. As has happened elsewhere already in this country where gay marriage has been legalized and in Britain, there are those who are advocating for the law to be changed to say that if you maintain such a policy you cannot be in the adoption business. That is wrong and inexcusable. It shows that beyond just the issue of gay adoption, the push for those behind gay adoption all too often includes eliminating any organization that would rather choose not to adopt to such couples for moral or other reasons.

What most concerns me is pushing for regulations that will actually drive certain adoption agencies out of adoption if they do not want to compromise on their values or on what they think is in the best interest of children. This rejected push for that precise change demonstrates that it is not just about allowing gay couples to adopt, and not even just marginalizing those who don't, but actually eliminating as a matter of law any organization that disagrees. That is something I find rather ridiculous and alone leads me to support the successful attempts to block the instituting of these new regulations in Virginia. Taking notice of these rejected potential legal regulations coming from the self-proclaimed "tolerant" and "open-minded" side exposes what is instead a rather authoritarian and dictatorial streak that accompanies the far-reaching ends of a legal and activist agenda.

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