The Virginia Senate on Tuesday approved
a bill which limits gay and lesbian people from adopting children,
the AP reported.
The Senate backed the measure with a 22
– 18 vote, the same outcome as an earlier vote before the measure
was reconciled with a version approved by the House.
Two Democrats, Senators Charles J.
Colgan and Phillip P. Puckett, helped all 20 Republicans get the
measure through the chamber.
The bill is sponsored in the Senate by
Senator Jeffrey McWaters, a Republican from Virginia Beach, and in
the House by Delegate Todd Gilbert, a Republican from Woodstock.
House members earlier overwhelmingly approved Gilbert's version.
The measure now heads to the desk of
Republican Governor Bob McDonnell, who has said he supports the
legislation.
Speaking earlier on the Senate floor,
Democratic Senator Adam P. Ebbin, the chamber's first openly gay
member, called the measure “morally wrong.”
Gay and lesbian couples are also
disproportionately affected by a Virginia law that only allows
married couples to jointly adopt a child. Currently, Virginia does
not permit gay couples to marry.
Lawmakers acted after the Virginia
Board of Social Services reversed anti-discrimination rules based on
personal factors, including sexual orientation. Those rules take
effect May 1.