Washington, DC, May 15, 2018: On the new Oklahoma Discriminatory Adoption Law passed this month, National LGBTQ Task Force Director of the Advocacy and Action Department Stacey Long Simmons, Esq. said:
“Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) and the state legislature have done a grave disservice to the thousands of children who are waiting to be adopted or placed in foster care. Under the new law which takes effect November 1, private adoption agencies may discriminate against prospective parents because they are LGBTQ, single, or non-Christian. It is unconscionable that they have taken these actions under the guise of the best interest of these children and they are either ignorant or unwilling to acknowledge that loving homes come in many different forms.
“Two years ago, my wife and I used a private adoption agency to adopt our son and we proudly celebrated our adoption with our families and friends. In fact, we are Christians and our son’s baby blessing ceremony was performed in an open and affirming LGBTQ friendly church. If we had lived in a state like Oklahoma, we would have had a completely different outcome and our dreams of adopting a child would have been crushed. My wife and I are disheartened that Oklahoma lawmakers have given religious-based adoption agencies an excuse to deny these children the same opportunities that we have been able to give to our son.
“The Oklahoma law needs to be repealed – there is simply no excuse for making these precious children waiting to be adopted or placed in foster care. They all deserve a chance to become a part of their forever family and laws like this are not only unfair but they also unnecessarily prolong the misery and angst of children and their would be parents.”
CONTACT:
Sarah Massey
Director of Communications
smassey@thetaskforce.org
202.639.6308