A bill aimed at safeguarding the religious liberty of foster families and prospective foster families in Kansas will become law after the state legislature successfully overrode a gubernatorial veto.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly announced her intention to veto the measure on Monday; however, the Kansas Legislature voted to override her veto of House Bill 2311 during votes on Thursday. The Kansas House of Representatives voted 87-38, and the Senate voted 31-9, both exceeding the two-thirds majority required for an override.
House Bill 2311 prohibits the state from requiring “a person to affirm, accept, or support any governmental policy regarding sexual orientation or gender identity that may conflict with the person's sincerely held moral or religious beliefs” as a condition for serving as a foster parent in Kansas.
The bill also prevents the state from denying “selection, appointment or licensure, if otherwise eligible, of a person because of such person's sincerely held religious or moral beliefs regarding sexual orientation or gender identity or intent to guide or instruct a child consistent with such beliefs.” Additionally, it provides a right of action for prospective foster parents who believe they were denied the opportunity to serve due to violations of the measure.
Foster parents in several other states have experienced revocations of their licenses or have had their requests to serve denied because they wouldn’t adopt views on sexual orientation and gender identity that clashed with their religious convictions.
In 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the city of Philadelphia could not exclude a Catholic charity from its foster program over its refusal to place children with same-sex couples based on religious beliefs. Furthermore, last year, two couples in Vermont filed lawsuits against the state after their foster parenting licenses were not renewed due to their lack of acceptance of LGBT ideology.
Another Christian couple in Vermont also initiated legal action against the state after being informed by the Department of Children and Families that their reluctance to foster a “transgender-identified” child and discuss “they/them pronouns” would hinder their ability to move forward with fostering.
Similarly, in 2023, a Massachusetts couple filed a lawsuit against the state for denying their request to act as foster parents because they “would not be affirming to a child who identified as LGBTQIA.”
