Hundred rally against anti-LGBTQ adoption bill

Nearly 200 people gathered across the street from the Gold Dome on March 1 to rally against Senate Bill 375, the anti-LGBTQ adoption bill that passed the Senate at the end of February and quickly caused a national backlash reminiscent of the reaction to House Bill 757, an anti-LGBTQ religious exemptions bill that Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed in 2016.

SB 375 would allow adoption agencies to refuse to place children with same-sex couples based on the agencies’ religious beliefs. The bill would also prohibit the state government from taking “adverse actions” against such agencies. SB 375 was initially introduced by Sen. William Ligon (R-Brunswick) as part of a state adoption code overhaul in 2017, but after its language was stripped from that bill, he reintroduced it as its own piece of legislation this year.

Georgia’s business community, particularly the film and television industry, came out strongly against SB 375. Gov. Deal has not issued a public statement on it.

During the rally, it was the words of transgender youth Tylen that drew the biggest response.

“When I met my parents, who are a same-sex couple, they are the best fathers that I could ever ask for. Taking away the fact that they can be parents to me and my foster brother, that means you’re taking away the fact that they have the ability to connect with me in a way that the people in group homes couldn’t. My other foster parent couldn’t even stand me,” Tylen said.