VIRGINIA SENATE FAILS TO PROTECT THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN
The Family Equality Council strongly opposes the Virginia Senate’s decision this afternoon to kill a bill that would have made second-parent adoptions legal in the state. Statement from Director of Public Policy Emily Hecht-McGowan: “With today’s decision, the Virginia Senate has sent the message that Virginia’s children don’t matter. Second-parent adoptions do one thing — protect children. Creating a legal relationship between a child and their second parent ensures emotional and financial stability and provides certainty under the law. Without these protections, children with same-sex parents are left vulnerable and treated as second-class citizens. Failure to pass this critical legislation is a disservice to the children of Virginia and sends a dangerous message to the rest of the country.” For TV, newspaper and web interviews with Family Equality Council Director of Public Policy Emily Hecht-McGowan, contact Bradley Jacobs at (917) 324-8771 or bjs1nyc@gmail.com. ### About Family Equality Council®: Family Equality Council® connects, supports, and represents the three million parents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer in this country today and their six million children of all ages. We are changing attitudes and policies to ensure that all families are respected, loved, and celebrated—including families with parents who are LGBTQ. We are a community of parents, children, grandparents, and grandchildren that reaches across this country. For over 30 years we have raised our children and raised our voices toward fairness for all families.