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Look, you have to understand the politics behind this (the bill, not the gay bashing.) Our Child Protective Services system is more than woefully inadequate--you know how Florida social services lost that girl, Rilya, who they were supposed to be checking up on? Remember what an outcry that caused? Shit, all they did was get snowed by a convoluted lie about why the girl wasn't at the house.
We just recently had a scandal where a particular pair of foster parents were not only reviewed by social services and given the thumbs-up repeatedly, but they were specifically showcased as pillars of the foster system. Turns out they were abusing all of these kids horrifically for years, closer to torture than abuse. (Actually, I think their arrest was linked in another thread...)
The bill to revamp Child Protective Services was going to pass, and everyone knew it. The vote was 135-6, and we do have more than 6 Democrats in our state legislature. Basically what happened was one asshole, Sen. Robert Talton, added an amendment to the bill that a lot of people (including Republicans) disagreed with, but politically the bill had to be passed and implemented as soon as possible.
I'm sure they're counting on exactly what I'll bet money is going to happen: That amendment will get struck down as unconstitutional by the courts, just like it did when Arkansas passed a similar bill. Meanwhile the less controversial aspects of the CPS overhaul will already be underway.
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