Cursed is he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow: and all the people shall say, Amen. – Deuteronomy 27:19
Nashville—known as both “Music City” and the “Buckle of the Bible Belt”—is the home of country music and the birthplace of bluegrass. Rabbis like me, who serve Jewish communities in places like Tennessee, respect that our neighbors take both their music and their religious values seriously. And one of the principles shared by many religious leaders is the idea that we must protect the vulnerable.
As our Governor and state Senators continue to pass legislation that discriminates against the LGBTQ+ community, we have joined with child welfare advocates and religious and secular communities across the country to sound the alarm and renew our call for passage of the John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act, which will ensure that no taxpayer-funded child welfare organization can turn away qualified prospective parents or abuse youth in foster care because of who they are, who they love, or what they believe. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) recently reintroduced the bill, and U.S. Representative Danny K. Davis (D-Illinois) plans to reintroduce it in the House of Representatives.
Laws discriminate against prospective parents and also against children
Congregation Micah is a Jewish community that has adopted the words of the civil rights leader and biblical prophet as our message of equality and hospitality for all: “Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). This calls us to fulfill the mission of our synagogue, as we are “committed to building community and repairing the world.”
Our community lives her values as we are now part of the national movement to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ people who seek to provide safe and loving homes for vulnerable children in foster care. I am a proud member of the Interfaith Coalition for Children’s Rights, founded in 2019 by Children’s Rights and a group of faith leaders.
We work on behalf of children in foster care across the country to combat proposed discriminatory legislation that would explicitly allow taxpayer-funded child protection agencies to discriminate against potential foster or adoptive parents, particularly LGBTQ+ couples, based on their religious beliefs. Some bills would even allow discrimination against children. By using religion as a justification, these efforts could deprive so many of the hundreds of thousands of foster children among us of the opportunity to be welcomed into the homes they so desperately need.
This threat to children culminated in a June 2021 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the city of Philadelphia could not prohibit a Catholic child protection agency that refused to work with same-sex couples from screening potential foster parents. The ruling allows that specific organization to use taxpayer dollars to discriminate against LGBTQ+ couples in its work in Philadelphia.
We were relieved that the decision did not give all agencies in the country a broad license to discriminate, but instead limited the ruling to the specific facts of that case. However, it was deeply hurtful nonetheless, as it sent a message to LGBTQ+ children and adults that their rights are not being protected and their identities are not being valued. Unfortunately, other jurisdictions also grant licenses to discriminate to child welfare agencies.
More: Judge blocks Title IX rules protecting LGBTQ+ students in Tennessee, five other states
All citizens unite to fight against taxpayer-funded discrimination
The Supreme Court ruling underscores why we need federal laws that provide consistent anti-discrimination protections for all LGBTQ+ people.
As Jews, we must speak out against any attempt to use a religious litmus test to undermine LGBTQ+ rights. We call for permanent legal protections to ensure those rights.
As I reflect on the meaning and promise of our youth, I invite all of us to work with and on behalf of LGBTQ+ people to fight back against taxpayer-funded discrimination.
Let’s work together to pass the John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act. To paraphrase the immortal Sly Stone, we can do it if we try.
Rabbi Philip “Flip” Rice is the co-senior rabbi of Congregation Micah in Brentwood, Tennessee. As a community leader of interfaith dialogue, he also lectures at Belmont University. Congregation Micah partners with the Religious Action Center, teaching youth advocacy skills, and is a proud member of the Interfaith Coalition for Children’s Rights.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: LGBTQ Adoption: End the Practice of Taxpayer-Funded Discrimination
