Wolves in Sheep's Clothing: How Religious Exemption Laws for Discriminatory Private Agencies Violate the Constitution and Harm LGBTQ+ Families

• Author: Kharis Lund
• Pages: 67-89

67

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing:

How Religious Exemption Laws for

Discriminatory Private Agencies Violate

the Constitution and Harm LGBTQ+

Families

KHARIS LUND*

Introduction

Kristy and Dana Dumont, who have been together for over a decade,

seemed to be the “ideal” prospective parents.1 They had been preparing

for the last several years to welcome children into their home, moving

to an idyllic neighborhood in the suburbs with a spacious yard and no

shortage of nature trails nearby.2 They had also made sure that there was

a good school district and that their new house was ready for their future

children.3 Despite all of their preparation and enthusiasm, however, they

were denied by two tax-funded child-placing agencies in their area.4 The

reason for the denial? Their sexual orientation. The fact that they were a

1. States of Equality: Dana & Christy in MI, FAM. EQUAL. (Nov. 25, 2018), https://www.

familyequality.org/stories/states-of-equality-dana-christy-in-mi/.

2. Id.

3. See id.

4. Id.

*       

Contest, Senior Note Editor of the Cardozo Law Review, and a May 2021 J.D. candidate at

the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. She thanks the ABA’s Family Law Section for their

support and belief in this project; the editors of the Family Law Quarterly for their tireless help;

Professor Edward Stein at Cardozo Law School, whose seminar class sparked the writing of this

article; and Sarah, for her encouragement and constant inspiration.

Published in Family Law Quarterly, Volume 54, Numbers 1 & 2, 2020. © 2021 American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof

may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.

68 Family Law Quarterly, Volume 54, Number 1, 2020

same-sex couple meant that they did not meet the religious criteria that the

agencies applied.5

Their story is in no way unique. Dr. Christopher Harris––a remarkably

accomplished pediatric pulmonologist and former president of GLMA:

       

adopt.6 He would wait months without word from faith-based child placing

    

classes had already been placed with children.7

Faith-based child placing agencies have a long history in the United

         

5. Id.; see also Dumont v. Lyon, 341 F. Supp. 3d 706, 714 (E.D. Mich. 2018) (summarizing

   

agreement with the Dumonts and another couple, Michigan’s Child Services Agency agreed to

enforce a nondiscrimination clause that would ensure that they no longer contracted with child

placing agencies (CPAs) that turned away or referred to other CPAs “an otherwise potentially

             

family for any child accepted by the CPA for services under a Contract or a Subcontract.” See

Settlement Agreement § 1(b)–(d), Stip. of Voluntary Dismissal with Prejudice Ex. A, Dumont

v. Gordon, No. 2:17-cv-13080-PDB-EAS (E.D. Mich. Mar. 22, 2019), ECF No. 82; see also

Leslie Cooper, Same-Sex Couples Are Being Turned Away from Becoming Foster and Adoptive

Parents in Michigan. So We’re Suing., AM. CIV. LIBERTIES UNION (Sept. 20, 2017, 10:30 AM),

https://www.aclu.org/blog/lgbt-rights/lgbt-parenting/same-sex-couples-are-being-turned-away-

     

this issue”). However, there is ongoing litigation over the policy between a faith-based child

    See Buck v. Gordon, 429 F. Supp. 3d 447 (W.D.



faith-based child placement agency), stay denied, No. 19-2185, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 34421

(6th Cir. Nov. 19, 2019), and appeal voluntarily dismissed, No. 19-2185, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS

6125 (6th Cir. Feb. 27, 2020).

6. 

Most Decorated Pediatric Pulmonologists from Ever Adopting His Daughter, FAM. EQUAL.

  

lgbtq-parents-almost-stopped-one-of-americas-most-decorated-pediatric-pulmonologists-from-

ever-adopting-his-daughter/.

7. See id. Dr. Harris was eventually able to adopt his daughter Mia through an LGBTQ+-

friendly agency. Id.

Published in Family Law Quarterly, Volume 54, Numbers 1 & 2, 2020. © 2021 American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof

may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.