A hot-button issue in the Texas Legislature at the moment is the Talton Amendment to Senate Bill 6. The amendment was rolled into the bill approved by the House of Representatives that, as expected, would also lower caseloads for investigators and hand over to private agencies some of the duties associated with protecting Texas children. This amendment would use government money to probe into the lives of any potential foster parents to determine their sexuality in an attempt to prohibit homosexual couples from adopting. The bill is now in conference committee and the author of the amendment itself, Rep. Robert Talton (R-Pasadena) has been appointed to it. Committee members opposed to the amendment are Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Lewisville), Sen. Jon Lindsay (R-Houston), Sen. Eliot Shapleigh (D-El Paso), and Rep. Toby Goodman (R-Arlington). Other committee members such as Sen. Kyle Janek (R-Houston), Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo), and Rep. Carlos Uresti (D-San Antonio) were unavailable for comment.

However, there is at least one swing voter in the conference committee. Rep. Suzanna Gratia-Hupp (R-Lampasas) feels that what two consenting adults do behind closed doors is none of the government's business; however, if an older child were put into a homosexual foster family, they may already have pre-conceived notions about homosexuality. Her secretary was unsure how the representative planned to vote.

This ridiculous amendment would create heavy costs for children, families and taxpayers. Luckily, Sen. Nelson, the author of the bill designed to overhaul the state's protective service agencies, has come out publicly against Rep. Talton's amendment. Nelson said she is concerned that the ban on gay foster parents would probably become a magnet for lawsuits and that it might cause upheaval for the thousands of children in homes where the foster parents might be gay or bisexual.

The Bottom Line: Do you want your tax dollars spent on investigations that aim to remove children from safe and stable homes?