© 2024 KMUW
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Kansas Lawmakers Revive Bill On Faith-Based Adoption Groups

Stephen Koranda
/
KPR/File photo

Republican legislators in Kansas are trying to break a political stalemate over a bill granting legal protections to faith-based adoption agencies that won't place children in LGBT homes.

House and Senate negotiators Thursday drafted a new version of a bill that would prevent the state from barring agencies from providing adoption services if they refuse to place children in homes violating their religious beliefs.

The Senate passed an earlier version in March but it has stalled in the House. Supporters hoped both chambers could vote on the new version Thursday, with the House going first.

The debate in Kansas occurred as Oklahoma legislators considered a similar proposal.

LGBT-rights advocates hope to stop both states' measures and view them as sanctioning discrimination. Supporters argue that they're religious freedom measures.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.