I am writing to request you maintain the April 20, 2011 determination that adoption agencies can conduct their business in accordance with their conscience and value system.

1. Virginia is the birthplace of religious liberty, and this freedom of conscience is a cornerstone freedom we should all protect. Faith-based agencies must be allowed to act in accordance with their beliefs.

2. Adoption should aim, where possible, to match a biological family as nearly as possible. Much research shows that children grow up best in a home with a loving mother and father.

3. The history of families throughout most cultures of the world is based on the idea of children having a father and mother. I believe we are ill-advised to hastily discard thousands of years of culture and heritage in order to fulfill a political agenda. 

4. I read with surprise many comments claiming "no discrimination" should be allowed in the adoption process. This position is untenable.  Having adopted several times, I know the adoptive process is DESIGNED to discriminate: potential parents can be excluded if they have insufficient income, limited living space, violent tendencies, etc. To "discriminate" simply means to discern, to judge, or to evaluate. To stop all "discrimination" in the process would be to simply let anyone pick up a child the way they pick up a 6-pack of cokes at Wal-mart. Any culture or government needs to wisely discriminate, to evaluate to find the best parents for children. And so adoptive agencies need to be able to make those determinations in accordance with their own belief system.

5. Lastly, those who complain about alleged "discrimination" are themselves discriminating, in that they are expressing their disagreement with others' views.