Across the U.S., approximately one-third of all children in the foster care system are part of the LGBTQ+ community - with many in the foster system
because they had to escape hateful, unsafe conditions in their original homes.Now, Tennessee wants to make that problem even worse. Republican lawmakers there
just passed a bill allowing explicitly anti-LGBTQ+ people to adopt queer and trans kids. Specifically, authorities there revoked a previous policy requiring prospective adoptive adults to provide kids with "dignity and respect."
This is an extremely dangerous move that could hurt children. Children are not pawns and their safety should not be some sort of political football used to score points within an extremist political party. Sign the petition to demand this hateful bill is repealed now!How can a political party that claims it cares about "family values" scrap a policy requiring people to care about a child's dignity?
Why do they hate queer children so much? Republicans must stop punishing children just for being honest about who they are!Because Republicans don't want to engage with issues like rising housing insecurity, income inequality, healthcare for all, and climate change, they've decided instead to villainize literal children.
Now, they're going after queer and trans foster kids, who are some of the most vulnerable people in our society, and who need love and support the absolute most.In fact, this bill even allows extremist adults to adopt LGBTQ+ kids in order to use them in a project of "saving" these children from their own queerness. Multiple homophobic organizations in Tennessee have formed with the explicit intention of adopting these kids, just to push a radicalized religious agenda on them.
Queer and trans youth are already at some of the highest risks of suicide and self-harm in the U.S. due to widespread stigma and cruelty. Being a foster youth on top of that only makes the situation more precarious.
Anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes in the U.S. are on the rise as Republicans continue to scapegoat queer people and especially queer youth - now lawmakers in Tennessee are intentionally throwing LGBTQ+ foster youths to the wolves as well.Right now in Tennessee, more than 6,000 kids are in the foster care system. That means that more than 2,000 children will likely be impacted by this terrifying new law.
We must speak up now, because we cannot let Tennessee lawmakers endanger extremely vulnerable children in this way! All kids should be safe wherever and with whomever they live. And that means not being adopted away into families that explicitly hate your sexual or gender identity. Sign the petition to make sure children are not thrown into risky situations!