This type of religious exemption legislation hurts kids. Child-placement agencies should focus on providing loving, stable, forever homes.
The city council of Jacksonville, Florida voted this week to add sexual orientation and gender identity to its Human Rights Ordinance, which protects against discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations.
While this is generally a good thing, especially because Jacksonville is the 12th most populous city in the country, the ACLU of Florida pointed out one glaring problem: the bill that added sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes also added an exemption for religious organizations.
Here’s part of the ACLU of Florida’s statement:
The broad religious exemption included in this ordinance legalizes discrimination against LGBT people and only LGBT people. Jacksonville’s laws already ensure that religious organizations can conduct their religious activities as they see fit, and protecting LGBT people doesn’t change that. But the exemption in the ordinance will allow a religiously-affiliated school to fire a gay janitor, or a religiously-affiliated homeless shelter to turn away a transgender person or a same-sex couple. It sends the message that Jacksonville thinks that LGBT discrimination is different, and more legitimate, than other forms of discrimination – and even permissible for certain institutions.
The work continues.
