The Kansas House on Thursday rejected a
bill that seeks to allow adoption and foster care agencies to refuse
placements to gay and lesbian couples.
According to The
Kansas City Star, the House voted down the bill with a 58-64
vote just hours after the Senate approved the bill 28-12. Lawmakers
from the House and Senate will negotiate a final conference committee
version of the bill.
Senator Barbara Bollier, a Republican
from Mission Hills, called the bill “sick discrimination.”
“And these are people who can love
and adopt children and are doing so. So to say it is not
discriminatory, I beg to differ,” she said.
Senate President Susan Wagle, a
Republican from Wichita, disagreed, saying that the legislation was
the “right thing to do.”
Supporters of such bills argue that
protecting religiously affiliated agencies would increase the number
of child placements.
Gina Meier-Hummel, who leads the Kansas
Department for Children and Families, has indicated her support for
the measure. She has also promised that her agency will not
discriminate.