Covenant News Wire Service

GOP Retreats From Ban On Sex Offender Foster Parents

Sex Offender Foster Parents and the GOP

HOUSTON -- Leading Republicans in Texas are distancing themselves from a proposal to make the state the only one to prohibit gays and lesbians from being foster parents. It appears the plan will die without becoming law.

The Texas House approved the plan last week, despite concerns that as many as 3,000 children could be removed from their homes. But amid a groundswell of anger and criticism, conservatives backed away from the proposal Friday. GOP leaders, including Gov. Rick Perry, said the proposal is so flawed it could endanger a broader initiative to overhaul the Texas Child Protective Services agency.

Kathy Walt, Perry's spokeswoman, cautioned that the governor still believes that a "traditional marriage between a man and a woman is the best environment in which to raise children."

Among Republican lawmakers, Perry's response was seen as a message to back off. And a key state senator leading the reform effort said Friday that she plans to "resist" the amendment containing the ban on gay foster parents. Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, said that because a similar plan was declared unconstitutional in Arkansas, she feared that the Child Protective Services overhaul would be stalled by legal challenges.

A spokeswoman for Rep. Robert Talton, R-Pasadena, who proposed the ban, said he no longer wishes to discuss the issue.

The Texas Senate and House have approved two different versions of the Child Protective Services bill, and the differences must be ironed out in committee before the bill becomes law. It is expected that Talton's amendment will be dropped from the compromise legislation.


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Posted by Editor at April 26, 2005 06:56 AM