South Dakota Becomes First State In 2017 To Pass Law Legalizing Discrimination Against LGBT People -

[Toothfairy]

As a foster parent/adoptive parent this makes me so upset. 

 

 

After months of hard work, South Dakota lawmakers handed Governor Dennis Daugaard Senate Bill 149, a bill that allows taxpayer-funded agencies to refuse to provide any service, including adoption or foster care services, on the basis of the agency’s religious or moral convictions, according to the ACLU.

 

Gov. Daugaard quickly signed the bill into law, making South Dakota the first state in 2017 to pass anti-LGBT legislation.

The ACLU derided the new anti-LGBT bill in a press release: The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota has led the opposition to SB 149 through both lobbying efforts and by organizing affected communities. In a state facing a labor and talent shortage, this bill has sparked national interest and local questions as to whether South Dakota welcomes diversity and values the rights of individual citizens. This bill was opposed by local and national child welfare experts that sent letters in opposition including The Adoption Exchange, Child Welfare League of America, National Association of Social Workers, and Voice for Adoption, as well as family law experts, South Dakota pediatricians, and local and national LGBT rights organizations including the Movement Advancement Project, the Human Rights Campaign, and more. - See more at: http://www.thegailygrind.com/2017/03/11/south-dakota-becomes-first-state-2017-pass-law-legalizing-discrimination-lgbt-people/#sthash.ang50aL2.dpuf

[Mercer]

This makes me angry on multiple levels:

It's discriminatory to LGBT folks, obviously.

It ignores the fact that thousands of foster children need a permanent home, and arbitrarily decreasing the adoption pool makes it all the more likely they will age out without a permanent family support system.

It also ignores the stated needs of foster children expressing what they want. If you take a look at the profiles on adoptuskids.org, many children (I would estimate the majority) indicate that they would be happy with a two moms or two dads family. In fact, some kids express a preference for same-sex parents, particularly kids who are LGBT themselves or who have a trauma background with the opposite sex. If it's supposed to be about the children, shouldn't what the children want be a factor?

This is a "solution" without a problem. There is no reason LGBT people can't be good parents, and in a country with a separation of church and state, there are no valid grounds to prevent it.

As a person and as a children's mental health worker, this makes me livid. 

[IronicallyMaeve]

Guess which state moved to the top of my "I'm never living there" list?

[MarblesMom]

As a resident of South Dakota, I am disappointed in this passing .... so sad and angry over this.  

The fear/hate here for anything non-white and hetero can be overwhelming at times.

ETA that I have not heard ANYTHING about this on the local news or local news websites.... I just went to Google and it looks like outlets around the world have covered it, but local media has not said a word.  I am speechless.

[applejack]

4 minutes ago, MarblesMom said:

The fear/hate here for anything non-white and hetero can be overwhelming at times.

God, THIS. 

I grew up in Sioux Falls, and while where I live isn't much better politically, we do have more diversity in general in the Northeast corner of Tennessee than I saw in 25 years in Sioux Falls. I can count on one hand the number of people of color I graduated from high school with, and on one finger the number of people of color I worked with at the job I had before I moved in 2002. And being out? I'd rather put my cigarette out in my right eye than be out in that city. You knew it was all going to go downhill when they tore down the Pomp Room. 

Sioux Falls milked that 'best place to live in America' thing back in 1992 for all it was worth, and what it brought with it was this, a bunch of milquetoast white folk who can't bear a thought of anyone different from them breathing the same air as them.