TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A controversial bill in the Florida House has critics saying Florida would be legalizing discrimination when it comes to adoptions. The issue over gay adoption rights is taking two different paths in the Florida House and Senate
The gay adoption ban in Florida hasn't been enforced for about five years, when then Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum stopped fighting against a ruling that allowed same sex parents to adopt.
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The Florida House voted Thursday to allow private adoption agencies to discriminate against gay couples if they feel their faith or morals are being compromised.
House members went back and forth for an hour.
"On the one hand, violating their deeply and genuinely held conscientious beliefs. On the other hand, closing the doors. Please don't put them in that position," Rep. Ross Spano said.
"To say that we're going to allow someone to receive state dollars to perform these services and still to discriminate in the performance of the job that we the people of the state are hiring these people to do, I think that's wrong," Rep. Joe Geller said.
The bill passed 75-38. Bill sponsor Jason Brodeur continually cited out-of-state examples of adoption agencies being forced to shut down rather than allow adoptions to same sex couples. LGBT opponent John Stemberger, with the Florida Family Policy Council, backed up the claims.
"Well, Catholic charities have closed down in Massachusetts, we know that adoption agencies have closed in Illinois, so we're not going to sit around and wait until we're attacked," Stemberger said. "We need protection now."
Democrats repeatedly tried to gut the bill during the process, but they said they're confident it won't land on the governor's desk.
"I would say it's government-condoned discrimination," Rep. Mark Pafford said. "I think the arguments were made pretty well yesterday. The good news is, there's no Senate companion."
Last month, the House voted to get rid of a mostly defunct ban on gay adoption in the state. The Senate shot down an amendment to the bill that would have kept the ban in place.