SAME-SEX PAIRS CAN BE BARRED, PANEL AGREES,

Measure would allow some agencies to deny gay couples.

A bill that would guarantee religious adoption agencies’ ability to turn away gay couples in Georgia passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

The committee voted 5-2 to approve the legislation, Senate Bill 375.

The measure would allow faith-based agencies to use their religious beliefs as a justification to reject samesex couples that are trying to adopt children from the state’s foster care system.

The proposal is one of several “religious liberty” bills pending in the Georgia General Assembly. Business leaders oppose these measures, saying they could hurt the state’s reputation as Amazon is considering Atlanta as a possible location for its second headquarters.

The bill could soon reach the full Georgia Senate for a vote before advancing to the state House.

State Sen. William Ligon, the bill’s sponsor, said he wants to protect adoption agencies that fear the state government could try to force them to serve samesex couples.

“The issue is ensuring that opportunities are available for everyone,” said Ligon, a Republican from Brunswick.

But state Sen. Elena Parent, who opposed the legislation, said the bill is trying to fix a problem that doesn’t exist in Georgia.

She said the state foster care system hasn’t declined a contract to any adoption agency because of its religious beliefs, and agencies already have the ability to refuse service to gay couples.

“If you’re basically putting in state law language that affirms the ability to discriminate based on a view of marriage, that would actually discourage adoptive parents,” said Parent, a Democrat from Atlanta.

There are more than 13,000 children in Georgia’s foster care system, and only about 1,000 of them were adopted last year, Ligon said.

Senators supporting the legislation said they want to ensure faith-based adoption agencies remain open in Georgia.

State Sen. Josh McKoon, a Columbus Republican, said Catholic Charities stopped offering adoption services in other states rather than comply with requirements that it must serve same-sex couples to receive state funding.

“At any time, the executive branch could change existing policy,” McKoon said. “The debate will continue about whether people of faith are going to be pushed to the margin of society.”

The committee vote split along party lines, with five Republicans in favor and two Democrats opposed.

MARK NIESSE / MARK.NIESSE@AJC.COM The Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee voted Tuesday to pass Senate Bill 375, which protects faith-based adoption agencies’ ability to refuse to do business with same-sex couples.