Sen. Gary Tapp (R) said he will not let the issue rest, declaring that the legislation is in the best interest of children.

The measure said that anyone “cohabitating with a sexual partner outside of marriage” cannot be considered as a foster or adoptive parent.

Although the bill would affect all unmarried couples living together, it was seen as specifically targeting same-sex couples.

The bill was approved in committee in the Senate, but the GOP leadership declined to schedule a vote in the full Senate.

The House adjourned Monday without taking up the measure.

Despite Tapp’s pledge to reintroduce the bill, gay rights groups declared victory.

“We’re glad to see that this dangerous bill did not advance,” said Washington, DC-based Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. ” Very simply, very plainly, this legislation would have hurt children in Kentucky who are waiting for permanent homes with loving families.”

“The fact that this attack on children was stopped at the Senate Committee level speaks volumes to the broad-based coalition support the Fairness Campaign was able to rally around this issue,” said Chris Hartman, Director of the Louisville-based Fairness Campaign.

“We hope this victory is a sign that discriminatory anti-adoption legislation will not be considered in the Commonwealth’s future, and that if it is, the Fairness Campaign will gather and build upon our allies and mobilize them against this bill with even greater fervor.”

Tennessee’s legislature is currently considering a similar bill that would ban adoption by any person “involved in a cohabitating sexual relationship outside of a marriage.”

Four states, Florida, Mississippi, Utah, and Arkansas, currently have laws that prohibit adoption by gay or lesbian couples. Florida’s law additionally prohibits adoption by gay or lesbian individuals.