Christian couples could not be required to set aside their religious beliefs about transgenderism in order to serve as foster or adoptive parents in Oklahoma under legislation approved by a Senate committee.

Senate Bill 658, by state Sen. Julie Daniels, states that the Oklahoma Department of Human Services cannot require any current or prospective adoptive or foster parent “to affirm, accept, or support any government policy regarding sexual orientation or gender identity that conflicts with the parent’s sincerely held religious or moral beliefs as a condition for eligibility to adopt or foster.”

“This bill is designed to make sure that we don’t exclude any otherwise eligible adults from being foster or adoptive parents,” said Daniels, R-Bartlesville. “We have 5,800 fewer kids in foster care this year than last year. The goal this year is to recruit 400 more (parents), but they actually need 736, so we never want any artificial obstacle to be put in place that would exclude otherwise eligible people from taking on this very important task.”

The legislation requires that state officials must also take “into account the religious or moral beliefs of a particular adoptive or foster child, or his or her family of origin including, but not limited to, the child’s or family’s views regarding sexual orientation and gender identity” when determining where to place a child.

“Not every child is going to fit with every family, and vice versa,” Daniels said.

The push to preserve the rights of Christian couples to serve as foster or adoptive parents comes as some other states have sought to drive those families from foster care.

Under a California state law, prospective foster parents have been required to proactively “affirm” a child’s chosen gender identity or sexual orientation. The California Policy Council reports that the law has led to a “purge” of Christian foster parents in California, who are “being systematically excluded from California’s foster care system.”

SB 658 passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on an 11-2 vote with bipartisan support. Both opponents were Democrats.