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Loading ...Kentucky anti-gay adoption bill advances
03.06.2009 3:09pm EST
(Frankfort, Kentucky) Legislation that would bar unmarried couples in Kentucky from adopting or fostering children has passed a key committee and now advances to a vote on the floor of the Senate.
The measure states that anyone “cohabitating with a sexual partner outside of marriage” cannot be considered as a foster or adoptive parent.Although the bill affects all unmarried couples living together, it is seen as specifically targeting same-sex couples.
Opponents of the measure accuse Republican Senate leaders of dirty tricks over the way the committee vote was taken.
The Justice Committee meeting was announced just as the Senate was being adjourned for the day. The bill passed 9-0 with no discussion.
Opponents said Friday that no notice was given that the committee was about to hold a vote on the bill. It passed unanimously.
“It was legislation by ambush,” said Sen. Kathy Stein (D) an opponent of the bill told the Louisville Courier-Journal. “I am disgusted.”
Last week, close to 200 people demonstrated against the measure at the Capitol, calling the legislation “a hate bill.”
The LGBT civil rights group The Fairness Campaign organized the rally.
“I find it very interesting that this was a secret meeting that very few people knew about,” Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign told the Courier-Journal. “This seems purposeful to exclude any real debate or discussion.”
Sen. Robert Stivers (R), a key supporter of the bill, denied there had been an underhanded move to hold the vote but admitted he did not know if notices of the committee meeting had been distributed.
The bill is modeled after similar ban that was approved by voters in Arkansas last November.
People are really taking this too far. They are discriminating against their own kind in order to discriminate against gays.
http://stuffqueerpeopleneedtoknow.wordpress.com/
Just Hatefull !!! and sneaky as these peope often are.
Tom in Long Beach.
Isn’t it time to outlaw the Republican Party yet? How long must we endure the party of NO? NO Rights, NO Scruples, NO Morals. Lets just take a cue from Nancy Regan and Just Say NO to Republicans…
I don’t care for the words anti gay. So when we get done taking care of business in The Hate of Mississippi, we will move to Kentucky, dress up as straight guys and bring them down. There! I feel much better. Truth Justice, and the American way…
God must be SO ashamed of ALL of us.
When will Heterosexuals protect ‘The Children’ from HETEROSEXUALS.
You know, the ones who CREATE all of the unwanted children, toss them away, and then refuse to let loving Gay parents take care of them.
What a shameful time across America.
This was the lowest,most underhanded strategy I have seen in a long time. Sen. Stivers had repeatedly said that he did not intend to bring SB 68 up because it was too controversial. Knowing that virtually every child welfare group, the child protective services, the adoption services, most case workers, many county attorneys, and every child mental health advocate in the state opposed this bill, Stivers slipped it into an unnoticed meeting of the right-wing judiciary committee, only allowed the bill’s sponsor and the Kentucky Family Foundation nuts to testify, then all but two of the ten committee members voted to pass it out of committee with a favorable recommendation. I totally agree with Sen. Stein: this was disgusting. And now it goes to the floor for a vote, and it will probably pass because the Kentucky Senate is overrun with right wing nutjobs. Our only hope is to kill it in the House…
My partner had a terrific idea this evening. Let’s start a toy drive. Send a toy, representing a child who will be left without a loving home if Senate Bill 68 passes to:
Sen. Gary Tapp (the bill’s sponsor)
702 Capitol Ave
Annex Room 203
Frankfort KY 40601
Make sure that old homophobe knows that the toy came from a family that values fairness and opposes his bill AND his bigotry.
I would love to see him buried in beanie babies!!
I lived in Kentucky for four years when I was stationed at Ft Campbell with the 101st Airborne. There are some nice people there, but I’m afraid most of them make the Beverly Hillbillies look like a Mensa meeting.
You would think that this would bring us a few straight supporters, but I bet the majority will find a way to blame us.
As a fellow Kentuckian, I am not surprised at all but disgusted more than anything. I can’t really say much more than that.
Can we really be shocked by this? Kentucky is a state where they allow a heterosexual adult male football coach to murder a heterosexual 15 yr old high school football player by denying him water. The coach’s community and principal think he did nothing wrong by murdering a student. And you think these animals posing as humans give a rat’s behind about children having access to loving homes?
Thats ok, what goes around comes around!
That CRACK BABY, the “Unwanted” “Undersirable” child that people like Sen. Stivers (R) doesn’t want us loving gay people to adopt, will be lost in a system, grow up to hate people like him and they will rob, beat the shit out of him and murder him! He doesn’t want them to have love, education, etc… I mean he can’t have his cake and eat it too!
That OR in years one of his child(ren) or grandchildren will grow up to be gay/lesbian and they will feel quite loved and learn to HATE him! We know we see this stuff all the time.
This stuff just makes me wanna ask all you Lesbians, Gays, Queers whatever you call yourself, Why in the HELL ARE YOU REPUBLICAN (that being said doesn’t make me Democrat, but they at least acknowledge us) and Why do you or would you support these Religious groups? I mean I dont care if your little church is “nice” they are all part of a BIG group and until you all realize that, this is WHAT YOU GET!!!!
Reality bites, but its true!
How many millions of innocent children have already become victims of our foster care and/or adoption system?
For a system that is represented as supporting a ‘best interest of the child’ approach, I find myself wanting to ask, and demand a public verbal response, as to how each and every one of those on the Justice Committee could face themselves, let alone find new ways to victimize and punish innocent children that just want to be loved and cared for !!! How ironic that they use the word ‘Justice’ to describe actions that are anything but Justice for the millions of children they lay claim to be protecting !
I think it’s a pretty safe assumption that if these same brainless morons even bothered to ask the children they claim to be protecting, they’d find the children wanting ANYONE that voluntarily & willingly steps forward to provide that love and care, including gays or unmarried couples, quite welcome and sufficient!
I’ve considered suggesting that these pathetic excuses for human beings on the Justice Committee should be forced to adopt these children themselves, however, the sad reality is that the children are better off living in the street than to be forced to live with such hate filled people!… How do these types call themselves Christian, or justify their actions as Christian ?
this annoys me because gays are the pnes taking care of the kids straight ppl give up.. i read about two gay guys adopting 5 kids with hiv/aids when neither had it themselves..how many straight ppl would do that?? it upsets me because i dont want to get married but i wanted to adopt kids.. n now because of ignorant states n ignorant bills that are jus going to continue expanding because when one state see that its past the rest are sure to follow, theres a possibility i wont be able to adopt unless i marry some ignorant ass hole of a man..( no offense to the men)
Why don’t they let the Catholic church take care of all the children? Oh…I forgot…they have already paid over two and a half billion to the victims of their pedofile prests and the $$$ keep growing. They would probably only want the little innocent boys anyway.
Another state in America to NEVER go too. Jeees, at this rate 99% of America is OFF limits. I’m sure the Catholic church will take REAL GOOD care of the “Boys”…anyone who signed this BILL SHOULD BE MADE TOO Foster/or adopt a child..no IFS,ANDS, or BUTS!