Texas bill may soon affect those looking to adopt

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A new Texas bill authored by State Representative James Frank may soon allow faith-based adoption agencies to decide who they adopt to and who they don't, based off religious beliefs or sexual orientation.

"Some people on one side of it would say this is a great thing because they want to keep cultural assimilation alive and they want their children raised by similar beliefs and so forth and on the other side of the debate is whether or not it's constitutional to prohibit certain people from adopting certain types of children," says legal analyst Carmen Roe. Roe says there are currently five other states with similar laws, but that South Dakota is the only other state that also funds faith-based agencies.

"In Texas it's unique because it's state money being given to these private entities," Roe says.

Gay rights activist and politically interested Texas resident Ray Hill says this bill unfairly targets those that want to adopt. "We are not interested in telling churches what to do within their boundaries, we are very interested in church becoming political action committees," says Hill.

Right now the bill is currently being debated, but he says if it passes we might see more lawsuits. Hills says, "So let them pass it and then if they start to enforce it and it affects somebody's equality or their liberty, then there is a lawsuit," Hill says.

"Keep in mind that the majority of adoptions in the state of Texas go through CPS which does not adhere to any sort of discrimination of any kind," says Roe.