Dear Friends,
God did something special yesterday – and we got to be part of it.
The Adoption Protection Act passed both the House and Senate and is headed to Gov. Colyer, who has pledged to sign it into law.
By passing the provisions of the Adoption Protection Act, the Kansas legislature has ensured that private, faith-based adoption and foster care service providers will remain free to help kids find their forever family. These agencies are indispensable parts of the diverse network of providers who partner with the state to ensure that each child is safe, provided for, and loved. This furthers our commitment to the dignity of every human life, the family, and religious freedom.
Getting the Adoption Protection Act over the line was a battle from the beginning. We struggled to get hearings, were never allowed a vote in committee, failed on procedural motions, fought through conference committees, faced false and misleading attacks from opponents, and – on the final day – needed four separate votes to pass.
On the first of those votes, we got the 60 we needed, but knew we had to get to 63 on “final action.” Weeks and weeks of work and we had just a few hours to find 3 more votes. But, do you know what yesterday was? National Day of Prayer.
And – get this – just before the critical House vote, a troupe of bagpipers and drummers began to play under the Capitol dome. The tune? Amazing Grace.
God gets the glory and we get to celebrate that he chooses us to accomplish his will.
Thank you for the phone calls and emails to your legislators. Thank you for reading the “action alerts” and watching the Facebook “live” updates. This was a team win – and every one of you is indispensable.
Below my signature is the roll call vote on final action for Adoption Protection in the House and Senate. Take some time to find your representatives and thank them for doing the right thing or ask them why they didn’t. (You can easily find contact information for your legislators in our Action Center by entering your zip code – or in some cases your full address where more precision is necessary.)
Sincerely,
Eric Teetsel
President & Executive Director
House of Representatives
Yea – (63): Alford, Arnberger, Aurand, Awerkamp, Bergquist, Blex, Burris, Carpenter, Claeys, Clark, Concannon, Corbet, Cox, Delperdang, Dietrich, Dove, Elliott, Ellis, Eplee, Esau, Finch, Francis, Garber, Hawkins, Highland, Hoffman, Houser, Huebert, Humphries, Jacobs, Jennings, Johnson, Jones, Karleskint, Kelly, Landwehr, Lewis, Mason, Mastroni, Orr, Osterman, Patton, Phillips, Powell, Proehl, Rafie, Rahjes, Resman, Ryckman, Schroeder, Seiwert, A. Smith, E. Smith, Sutton, Tarwater, Thimesch, Trimboli, Vickrey, Waymaster, Weber, Wheeler, Whitmer, Williams
Nay – (58): Alcala, Baker, Ballard, Becker, Bishop, Brim, Burroughs, Carlin, Carmichael, Clayton, Crum, Curtis, Davis, Deere, Dierks, Finney, Frownfelter, Gallagher, Gartner, Good, Helgerson, Henderson, Highberger, Hineman, Hodge, Holscher, Horn, Judd-Jenkins, Kessinger, Koesten, Kuether, Lusk, Lusker, Markley, Miller, Murnan, Neighbor, Ohaebosim, Ousley, Parker, Phelps, Pittman, Probst, Ralph, Rooker, Ruiz, Sawyer, Schreiber, Sloan, Stogsdill, Swanson, Thompson, Trimmer, Victors, Ward, Weigel, Whipple, Wolfe Moore
Absent and Not Voting – (4): Barker, Hibbard, Schwab, Winn
*****
Senate
Yea – (24): Alley, Baumgardner, Berger, Billinger, Bowers, Denning, Doll, Estes, Fitzgerald, Goddard, Hardy, Hilderbrand, Kerschen, Longbine, Lynn, Masterson, Olson, Petersen, Pilcher-Cook, Pyle, Suellentrop, Tyson, Wagle, Wilborn
Nay – (15): Bollier, Faust-Goudeau, Francisco, Haley, Hawk, Hensley, Holland, Kelly, McGinn, Pettey, Rogers, V. Schmidt, Skubal, Sykes, Taylor
Present and Passing – (1): Givens