Religious freedom secured another victory recently, in one battle among many being fought around the country to protect the rights of individuals to live according to their faith. Michigan’s Governor Rick Snyder signed legislation allowing Christian adoption agencies the right to decline referrals of gay or unmarried couples if it violates their religious beliefs.

While these Christian agencies receive state funding, they are private agencies, with the legal right to freely exercise their religious freedom. This legislation simply reaffirms their right to operate according to their faith. Snyder said in a statement “The state has made significant progress in finding more forever homes for Michigan kids in recent years and that wouldn’t be possible without the public-private partnerships that facilitate the adoption process. We are focused on ensuring that as many children are adopted to as many loving families as possible regardless of their makeup.”

This can be done without agencies having their constitutional right to religious liberty infringed upon. Gay and unmarried couples are still allowed to adopt through other agencies who do not share the religious conflict, and Christian agencies will be required to give the couples information on finding these agencies.

Despite this win for freedom and families, the ACLU is looking to challenge the legislation. ACLU attorney Brooke Tucker said “The constitution doesn’t allow discrimination based on religion and you can’t do that with state funds. We’re looking at our legal options and especially looking to hear from people who will be adversely affected by this.” What she fails to understand is that this is not discrimination, as all families will be served. If the government forces a company to violate their religious beliefs, then it is they who would be discriminated against, and Michigan’s kids would lose.

There are approximately 13,000 Michigan children waiting in foster care, waiting to be united with a loving family, needing agencies to make that a reality. While opponents argue that this legislation makes it more difficult for these children to be united with adoptive families, in reality, it does exactly the opposite. Sen. Rick Jones (R-Grand Ledge) said, “If they close their doors, I don’t know what we will do with all of the children. This is a real threat … in Boston, in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and in the state of Illinois, agencies are closing their doors because they have been forced to violate their deeply held religious beliefs.”

The ACLU and other opponents need to consider that, should the state force Christian agencies to operate outside of their religious beliefs, many will be forced to close their doors, denying access to all the children and families they serve.

This legislation is a win for religious freedom, and for Michigan families.

There are positive developments elsewhere in the country as well. While Indiana has been in the news for passing their Religious Freedom Restoration Act, they are hardly alone. In 1993, then-president Bill Clinton signed a federal RFRA into law and in all, twenty states (not including Michigan) have now passed state-level RFRAs as well. An additional 11 have passed legislation similar to RFRA.

Protecting religious freedom is an American tradition, enshrined in our Constitution and carried through to modern law in response to increasing threats. While Michigan has not passed RFRA protection, last week’s legislation has made it safe for Christian agencies to operate without violating their beliefs.