Pride Month: Supreme Court Sides With Catholic Church Against Same Sex
Couples 9-0
https://socialistaction.org/2021/06/23/pride-month-supreme-court-sides-with-catholic-church-against-same-sex-couples-9-0/
June 23, 2021
by Ann Montague
Today’s unanimous ruling (Fulton V The City of Philadelphia) states
Philadelphia must allow a “religious exception” to their non
discrimination law. This is a setback for gays and lesbians seeking to
be foster parents. The court ignored the fact that Catholic Social
Services (CSS) is funded by public money.
For many years church based charities have de-emphasized private fund
raising and instead rely on state or municipal contracts. But now they
are claiming it is their right to ignore the non discrimination
requirement of their contracts and maintain their right to discriminate
on the basis of sexual orientation. CSS claim a “religious liberty
interest”. They say that the churches that sponsor them (but do not fund
them) consider homosexuality a sin. Therefore they will not consider gay
men or lesbians as foster parents. The city of Philadelphia stopped
placements to CSS in 2018 because they were violating the non
discrimination requirement in their contract.
Previously the Third Circuit Court had unanimously ruled against CSS
saying that the city is entitled to require compliance with non
discrimination policies. They said that CSS is not entitled to rewrite
government contracts to eliminate anti discrimination clauses.
The unanimous Supreme Court decision requires the City of Philadelphia
to renew its contract with CSS.
The National Association of Social Workers and the Child Welfare League
of America submitted a brief to the court, “A diversity of foster and
adoptive families is needed to ensure all children find permanent
loving parents and gay and lesbian parents are essential partners in
this effort.”
CSS wants continued public funding. But it is the public agency that has
official custody of the children and this is why the state has a non
discrimination clause in their legal contract.
The Williams Institute at UCLA states that there is a critical shortage
of adoptive parents and gay people in the US make up an important
number. Same sex parents are 7 times more likely than heterosexual
couples to have an adopted or foster child.
In addition this discrimination not only hurts prospective parents. Most
gay men and lesbians accept special needs children and will provide
foster care for older children who are LGBTQ.
Some people have expressed concern that this decision would start to
chip away at marriage equality. But the issues of adoption and foster
care by gay and lesbian individuals as well as couples had been
happening for decades before same sex marriage was legal. There was a
surge in the numbers as the gay community stepped up and were willing to
adopt hard to place infants and children during the height of the AIDS
epidemic. There were no complaints at that time as no one else seemed to
care for these at risk children.
Silence About This Case Was Deafening
June is Pride Month. It is also generally the month when important
Supreme Court decisions are announced. Generally, whenever there is a
decision that will effect the LGBTQ community there is at least a token
rally or at least a presence outside the court. This may seem minimal.
It is not a mass mobilization but it makes a statement that we are
watching. Those who are victims of the Supreme Court will not be silent.
This case was a perfect one for a united community to stand together.
While the immediate victims are gay men and lesbians seeking to be
foster parents, all of us are harmed because who will take in the LGBTQ
children if not us?
Not A Broad Decision?
Some in the legal community take heart in saying it is not a broad
decision. It is not that bad. It is true that CSS wanted a wide ranging
decision that gave religious organizations the right to violate any and
all non discrimination laws and policies. That did not happen but this
decision will only embolden more such cases. They will come and next
time let us unite and mobilize our numbers.
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Irvin D. Yalom “Truth," Nietzsche continued, "is arrived at through
disbelief and skepticism, not through a childlike wishing something were
so! Your patient's wish to be in God's hands is not truth. It is simply
a child's wish—and nothing more! It is a wish not to die, a wish for the
eveastingly bloated nipple we have labeled 'God'! Evolutionary theory
scientifically demonstrates God's redundancy—though Darwin himself had
not the courage to follow his evidence to its true conclusion. Surely,
you must realize that we created God, and that all of us together now
have killed him.” ― Irvin D. Yalom, When Nietzsche Wept