A bill designed to prevent the state of Kansas from infringing on the religious liberty of foster families and prospective foster families will become law now that the state legislature has overridden a gubernatorial veto of the measure.
The Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature voted to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of House Bill 2311 in votes Thursday. The Kansas House of Representatives voted 87-38, and the Senate voted 31-9 to override Kelly’s veto of the measure.
The votes in both chambers exceeded the two-thirds majority needed to override a gubernatorial veto. Both votes fell almost entirely along party lines, with all Democrats opposing the veto override and all but one Republican supporting it. The measure will take effect as soon as it is published in the Kansas register.
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Kelly informed the legislature on Monday of her intention to veto the measure.
“The top priority of the Kansas Department of Children and Families should be adhering to the ‘best interest of the child’ standard. Legislation like this detracts from this standard and stands in the way of best serving those in the child welfare system,” she wrote.
“Children in need of care already face unique and complex challenges. I will not sign legislation that could further complicate their lives,” she added. “I also have concerns that this bill could expose the state to frivolous lawsuits and hinder the agency by taking time and resources away from critical services.”
House Bill 2311 prohibits the state from requiring “a person to affirm, accept, or support any governmental policy regarding sexual orientation or gender identity that may conflict with the person’s sincerely held moral or religious beliefs” as a condition for serving as a foster parent in the state.
The legislation also bans the state from refraining from “selection, appointment or licensure, if otherwise eligible, of a person because of such person’s sincerely held religious or moral beliefs regarding sexual orientation or gender identity or intent to guide or instruct a child consistent with such beliefs.” Another provision in the bill contains a right of action for any prospective foster parent who feels they were denied the opportunity to serve as a foster parent in violation of the measure.
Foster parents in several other states have had their licenses revoked or their request to serve as foster parents denied because they declined to adopt views on sexual orientation and gender identity that conflicted with their deeply held religious beliefs.
“Every child deserves a loving home that can provide them stability and opportunities to grow,” said Greg Chafuen, senior counsel with the religious liberty-focused legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, in a statement. “Other states have put politics over people by excluding caring families and faith-based adoption and foster care organizations from helping children find loving homes. The Kansas Legislature correctly voted to override Gov. Kelly’s misguided veto.”
Chafuen described the veto override as “a critical step to prioritize the well-being of kids by prohibiting state and local government officials from discriminating against adoption and foster care providers and parents simply because of their religious beliefs and moral convictions.”
In 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision that the city of Philadelphia could not exclude a Catholic charity from its foster program over its refusal to place children with same-sex couples in accordance with religious beliefs.
“Government fails to act neutrally when it proceeds in a manner intolerant of religious beliefs or restricts practices because of their religious nature,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in the opinion.
“The refusal of Philadelphia to contract with [Catholic Social Services] for the provision of foster care services unless it agrees to certify same-sex couples as foster parents cannot survive strict scrutiny, and violates the First Amendment.”
Last year, two couples sued the state of Vermont after it declined to renew their licenses to serve as foster parents because they did not embrace LGBT ideology.
Another Christian couple living in Vermont filed a separate lawsuit against the state after its Department of Children and Families told them that because “they will not foster a [transgender-identified] child and discuss they/them pronouns with [a] child, then [the department does not] know how [it] can move forward with fostering given the inability to predict any foster child’s journey with their own identity.”
In 2023, a Massachusetts couple filed a lawsuit against the state over its denial of their request to serve as foster parents because they “would not be affirming to a child who identified as LGBTQIA.”
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
