The day after Governor Snyder signed a package of bills I call the “RFRA for Adoption” into law, his administration sent out an email to all state employees imploring them to consider becoming foster parents to unadopted Michigan kids. Here’s a screenshot:
They probably realized just how disgustingly ironic it was to ask people to foster kids the day after a new law went into effect making it all that much harder for kids to be adopted because the web version of the email suddenly went missing the same day:
Make no mistake: by signing those bills into law, Gov. Snyder absolutely made it harder for same-sex couples to adopt. Out of the 81 adoption agencies listed on the Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange website, at least 40 of them are affiliated with a Christian organization. In other words, half of the adoption agencies in the state are “faith-based” who can now legally discriminate against same-sex couples while receiving state funding. In some counties, these faith-based adoption agencies are literally the only option.
Gov. Snyder engaged in a serious bit of newspeak in the statement he issued after signing the bills into law:
The state has made significant progress in finding more forever homes for Michigan kids in recent years and that wouldn’t be possible without the public-private partnerships that facilitate the adoption process. We are focused on ensuring that as many children are adopted to as many loving families as possible regardless of their makeup.
He claims that the RFRA for Adoption law will “[ensure] that as many children are adopted to as many loving families as possible regardless of their makeup” by reducing the number of Michiganders who will be able to adopt those children. And his administration made it clear that there aren’t enough homes NOW for these children because they are urging their employees to become foster parents to them.
If I wasn’t so disgusted, I’d laugh. Unfortunately this is very serious business and kids who are already dealing with tough, sometimes intolerable situations are now facing an even tougher situation.
It’s appalling.
