Kansas and Oklahoma are the latest states to pass legislation banning gay adoptions. The news comes weeks after two lesbians starved and murdered their 6 adopted children in a tragic murder-suicide.
Kansas and Oklahoma passed both bills in their respective state houses on Thursday, according to Lifesitenews.com.
The bills protect religious adoption agencies’ right not to place children with gay couples.
The legislation now goes to their respective governors to sign. Republican Mary Fallin of Oklahoma is still mulling over whether she will sign the bill into law, but Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer (also Republican) as confirmed he will sign.
“Catholic Charities and other adoption agencies are key to the fabric of our communities,” Colyer said Friday. “I look forward to signing this bill because it increases the opportunities for needy children to find loving homes.”
Colyer said children thrive in homes with a mommy and a daddy.
Lesbian couple Jennifer Hart and Sarah Hart, both 38, starved and abused their 6 adopted children for years, despite reports of abuse from teachers and friends.
The women drove off a cliff in Northern California killing themselves and their children in March. 2 of the children — Hannah Hart, 15, and Devonte Hart, 16, are still missing.
In 2013, a case worker concluded that the children were safe and in no danger after reviewing a doctor’s report.
The doctor — a homeopath whose name is redacted from the agency report — wrote just two sentences about each child, saying she had “no concerns whatsoever” about the children’s well-being — despite the fact that all but one of the children looked years younger than their stated ages.
At 11, Hannah Hart was the size of a typical 6-year-old girl; 15-year-old Markis (the tallest of the group) looked like he was 11 or 12. And 8-year-old Cierra Hart appeared to be aged 6.
Jeremiah Hart, who was 8 at the time, was the size of a 6-year-old boy. He was the only one of his 3 biological siblings to be born with drugs in his system.
“He has been evaluated and at this time I do not have any medical concerns regarding his stature,” the doctor wrote on his chart that was forwarded to the case worker.
Someone in the doctor’s office wrote a note saying the children’s heights and weights were all “proportionately small” for their age.
Jennifer Hart, who was accused of starving the children, and Sarah Hart, who was accused of beating and abusing the children, both lied and said the children were small because they had ongoing “food issues”.
But any food issues would have resolved within a year after they were adopted — if they received nutritious meals.
The other states that have laws allowing only adoption by married heterosexual couples include Alabama, Michigan, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Virginia.
Georgia passed a bill in the House banning gay adoptions. The legislation next goes to the Senate before landing on the governor’s desk for signature.
