I think we can all agree that one way to reduce violence and generally make our city a better place to live and work is to give all of our kids the best chance at life by providing them with a good education, healthcare, and in the case of children and youth services, the best foster care system possible.

State Representatives Curtis Thomas, Rosita Youngblood, Robert Donatucci, John Sabatina Jr. had a chance to realize these goals, but blew it big time.

According to last week’s Philadelphia Gay News:

A proposed measure in Harrisburg that sought to prevent GLBT youths in foster care from experiencing harassment and abuse has been withdrawn from consideration, after amendments to the proposal threatened to invalidate protections for GLBT youths in institutional settings.

H.B. 302 would have forbidden discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in all foster-care homes throughout the state and would have allowed youths to petition a judge for a new placement if foster parents treated them with hostility due to their GLBT status.

The bill was introduced by state Rep. Phyllis Mundy (D-Luzerne Co.) about three years ago

I mean how much of a no-brainer is this bill?

One very significant reason that some LGBTQ youth end up in foster care in the first place is because of parental rejection of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Unfortunately, Republicans in the Pennsylvania House don’t have much of a brain or a heart. Again, according to the PGN:

on June 11, in a 104-91 vote, opponents of the bill succeeded in having it amended so that the sexual-orientation provision was removed, along with other changes.

State Rep. Kate Harper (R-Montgomery Co.) was a chief opponent of Mundy’s bill.

She said Mundy’s bill would discourage too many people from becoming foster parents, partly due to fear of being sued.

Whatever Kate. I expect this from Republicans. Thank God for Philadelphia Democrats, right?

Nope.

According to the roll call vote you can find online here, Thomas, Youngblood, Donatucci and Sabatina all voted for the Harper amendment.

“I was crushed emotionally and mentally by the opposition to the bill,” Mundy said. “The very idea that discrimination based on sexual orientation is OK was appalling to me.”

I hear ya sister. Let’s do something about it. The vote for the ammendment that killed this bill was 104-91. If we can get these guys to change their minds, we could help get this bill back on track.

If you live in a district represented by one of these traitor Democrats, find their email and phone numbers here and tell them you want to support the Mundy bill on LGBT foster care as it was originally introduced.