A Christian couple in Massachusetts refused to sign the LGBTQUIA+ Non-Discrimination Policy from the state’s Department of Children and Family (DCF). The policy required foster parents to affirm and support the gender ideology of any child placed into their care.
According to LifeSiteNews, despite having three teens whom they are currently fostering and having fostered younger kids before, their license was revoked by the state for refusing to sign
Sam Whiting is general counsel at Massachusetts Family Institute and also legal counsel at the Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center. According to him, Lydia and Heath Marvin are a Christian couple in the state who have been fostering for a number of years.
“But just this past year in the summer of 2024, they saw in their foster parenting agreement that a new line was added that said that, if they want to foster in Massachusetts, they have to agree to support, respect, and affirm the sexual orientation and gender identity of any child that comes into their care," informs Whiting.
He explained that as Christians, of course, we believe Genesis 1:27, that God created us male and female.
“They couldn't, in good conscience, sign on to that. So, they asked for an accommodation. They spoke with their caseworker and their licensing officials, and they asked is there any way around this. They were told ‘no’," says Whiting.
He continued by saying they were told to “sign or lose you license,” which was exactly what happened.
"They tried to appeal that through the department, and that appeal was rejected," explains Whiting.
Whiting said his team is also representing two other families who are in similar situations in a federal court lawsuit, right now, against the state. He added that, potentially, even more importantly, his team is trying to vindicate the rights foster children to have safe and loving homes.
“This is because many of the families who foster are Christian families. By purging Christian families from the foster system, DCS is taking away loving homes from thousands of foster children," states Whiting.
Whiting said his team is optimistic about their chances in this case. He added that even most people on the left side of the aisle can see that this is “just pure discrimination against Christians without serving any kind of public policy purpose.”
“A lot of the families who are fostering and who are Christians are fostering kids that are younger than six years old. These aren't kids who are identifying as LGBT. The issue just doesn't come up, and yet, loving homes are being taken away from kids because of a hypothetical, far-fetched scenario," states Whiting.
