Welcome to

A controversial bill in the Florida House has critics saying Florida would be legalizing discrimination when it comes to adoptions. As Matt Galka tells us, the issue over gay adoption rights is taking two different paths in the Florida House and Senate.

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.

Rep. Ross Spano/(R) Riverview

“On the one hand violating their deeply and genuinely held consciounscious beliefs. Or on the other hand closing the doors. Please don’t put them in that position,” said Rep. Ross Spano (R-Riverview).

Democrats were strongly opposed.

“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,” said Dania Beach Democrat Joe Geller.

The bill passed 75-38.  Bill sponsor Rep. 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 has 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, we need protection now,” said Stemberger.

Democrats repeatedly tried to gut the bill during the process but they’re confident it won’t land on the Governor’s desk.

“I would say it’s Government condoned discrimination, I think the arguments were made pretty well yesterday. The good news is, there’s no Senate companion,” said House Minority Leader Rep. Mark Pafford.

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.

The gay adoption ban in Florida hasn’t been enforced for about 5 years, when then Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum stopped fighting against a ruling that allowed same sex parents to adopt.