Boston, MA

Keshet’s President & CEO, Idit Klein, issued the following Statement on the Fulton v. Philadelphia Supreme Court ruling.

“[G]ay persons and gay couples cannot be treated as social outcasts or as inferior in dignity and worth.”
Narrow SCOTUS ruling does not allow broad religious exemptions to nondiscrimination law.

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia that the city cannot, in this specific circumstance, prohibit Catholic Charities from discriminating against same-gender couples seeking to be foster parents.

Keshet President & CEO Idit Klein responded with the following statement:

It’s alarming and heartbreaking when the highest court of the land seems to validate discrimination. But in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, the court issued a narrow ruling that allows Catholic Social Services to refuse to work with married same-gender couples. Fulton does not create any sweeping new religious exemptions to nondiscrimination law.

This decision does not offer a broad license for taxpayer-funded programs such as foster care agencies to discriminate based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or religious beliefs. We celebrate this news for the over 400,000 children in foster care nationwide who need loving and stable homes.

Despite the appearance of a setback for LGBTQ families, the Court affirmed that “[o]ur society has come to the recognition that gay persons and gay couples cannot be treated as social outcasts or as inferior in dignity and worth.”

It’s time to make that recognition a legal, federal reality and pass the Equality Act. Keshet urges all Americans to stand up for LGBTQ people and our families, and call on the Senate to pass the Equality Act.