Last year, around this time, supporters of the LGBT community were pleased when the Governor, Dennis Daugaard, decided to veto the transgender bathroom bill. This bill would have forced transgender children to use the bathroom that corresponded to their birth sex. But with the advancement of the discrimination bill by lawmakers, the LGBT community has lost the trust that they once had with South Dakota.

The “License to Discriminate” (Senate Bill (SB) 149) bill is being advanced by lawmakers, and would allow state-funded adoption agencies the right to discriminate against LGBT couples by denying them adoption rights. This bill would enable agencies to deny adoption rights to people whom religions oppose the agencies. This bill would limit eligible South Dakotans to become adoptive parents, if those people were single mothers, transgender or same-sex couples.

The bill would also apply to the foster child’s relatives, restricting the children to be adopted by their family members if those members were a part of the LGBT community. The bill is disabling willing adopters to care for the in need children, basically taking away their equal rights to others. But not only does this bill prevent adoption, it also would allow medical agencies to refuse care to LGBT children if those agencies are objected, by religion, to LGBT community beliefs. The bill does not stop there, though. It states that medical agencies would not lose their license if conversion therapy had taken took place.

An estimated two million LGBT couples have shown interest in adopting children that are currently in childcare. With this bill, willing LGBT couples who want to adopt could be restricted by doing so.

The statistics of post-foster child lives are astonishing. According to Lifelong Adoption, less than three percent of foster children attend college, and one in five will end up homeless after the age of 18.

The idea of rejecting children from receiving love and care is pure stupidity, in my thought. This bill is not only discriminating against the LGBT community, but could also increase the horrific cycle of foster care.