Two Christian families in Vermont, alongside the Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group Alliance Defending Freedom, are suing the state after it stripped their foster care licenses over their homophobic and transphobic beliefs.
“Vermont says they’re unfit to parent any child because of their traditional religious beliefs about human sexuality,” said ADF legal counsel Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse in a press release. “Vermont seems to care little about the needs of vulnerable children, much less the constitutional rights of its citizens. That’s why we’re suing them in federal court.”
The Wuoti and Gantt families filed the lawsuit along with the ADF on Tuesday, initiating a formal complaint against the state.
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Vermont changed its policies regarding foster families in recent years to better support LGBTQ+ youth. It requires that foster parents are supportive of young people’s identities – such as properly gendering trans youth or allowing kids to embrace their sexual orientation.
It strictly prohibits “discrimination and bias based on a child or youth’s real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.”
The lawsuit argues that both families are required by their religion to misgender any foster children, stating that “a person’s sex is binary and fixed by God at conception.” It goes further in arguing that, in the case of the Gantt family, they believe that trans people must detransition and that people should not gender trans people correctly.
The lawsuit also claims that Kaitlyn Wuoti had gender dysphoria as a child, leading her to be filled with “compassion” for children. Both Brian and Kaitlyn Wuoti believe that they cannot even associate with a Pride parade or those in it because “they convey a message about human sexuality that goes against their faith.”
Radke emphasized in a statement that while DCF does not comment on pending lawsuits, the lawsuit was nevertheless filed at the beginning of Pride Month, a time normally dedicated to celebrating LGBTQ+ people.
“It is a human right for all to be valued and supported, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity,” Radke said. “The Family Services Division is here to serve all and upholds that expectation for both its staff, as well as the foster parents who agree to take on the care of the youth in our custody.”
This lawsuit comes at a time when LGBTQ+ youth are especially vulnerable, facing attacks on their healthcare across the world. This atmosphere contributes to stigma against these youths. Moreover, LGBTQ+ youth are more likely to be homeless and in the foster system.
“It’s the role of families to provide that kind of affirmation and validation,” said Amanda Rohdenburg with Outright Vermont. She says it’s impossible to tell who is LGBTQ+ just by looking at them, so LGBTQ+ youth might be placed with anti-LGBTQ+ foster parents. “They are at high risk of experiencing rejection or internalizing homophobia or transphobia that impacts their sense of sense over their lifetime.”
The named defendants in the suit are Department for Children and Families (DCF) Commissioner Christopher Winters, Deputy Commissioner of the DCF’s Family Services Division Aryka Radke, and DCF’s Director of Residential Licensing & Special Investigations Stacey Edmunds.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont, Windham Division and has Gretchen M. Wade of Wadleigh, Starr & Peters, P.L.L.C as additional legal counsel.
The Alliance Defending Freedom is known for its ties to the book The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today, which was written by former ADF CEO Alan Sears and ADF member Craig Osten. They group also supports banning LGBTQ+ individuals from the military and the Boy Scouts of America.
The ADF has filed lawsuits across the country, such as in the case of 303 Creative vs. Elenis, where they defend an individual trying to discriminate against LGBTQ+ individuals based on religion.
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