As new generations form and our political climate changes, the LGBTQ+ community has grown rapidly. While this community has overcome many challenges, their rights continue to be discussed and debated throughout the Supreme Court.

According to an article from The Washington Post, “In Fulton v. Philadelphia, the court could create a precendent that allows discrimination against LGBTQ+ families. More specifically, private agencies that receive taxpayer funding to provide government services – such as foster care agencies, food banks and homeless shelters – could be given the constitutional right to deny services to LGBTQ+ members.“

“In my opinion, places shouldn’t be able to refuse service to people based on their gender, sexuality, or race in the first place, especially food banks and homeless shelters,An anonymous source said. “This is blatant discrimination, and it isn’t right.”

This specific case mainly faces the issue of foster agencies refusing to accept LGBTQ+ couples. This is because the city of Philadelphia discovered that the Catholic Social Services, which acts as a foster care services provider, refused to certify same-sex couples as suitable parents in the foster care system based on religious reasoning.

“Personal religion or beliefs have no place in our human rights or legislative system,“ senior Mckenna Watson said.

As also mentioned by CNBC, “Catholic Social Services argues that Philadelphia’s exclusion from the city’s foster care system amounts to religious discrimination, in violation of the First Amendment’s protections for religious exercise.“

“They’re not interested in people’s rights, they’re interested in separating us as a country and harming others,“ sophomore Jodi Donovan said.

As of now, eleven out of fifty U.S. states have given permission for private foster care agencies to refuse to give children to same-sex couples.

“With refusing foster care, you’re taking not just the happiness of the parents away, but the children’s too,“ sophomore Sarah Robles said.

The case is set for November 4th 2020, although a ruling is not set to be decided until the end of June 2021.

“No matter what you sexually identify, you deserve to eat. You deserve shelter. You deserve to have a child if you want to. You deserve love, care, and acceptance,“ Watson said.