Trans fanatics want children to remain in foster care rather than foster care

The Burkes wanted to start a family.

But for years, the Southampton, Massachusetts couple struggled with infertility. Mike, an Iraq war veteran, and Catherine, “Kitty,” who runs a small business with her husband, tried private adoption.

As it became too expensive, the Burkes, both in their late 30s, turned to caring and were willing to open their home to abused and abandoned children in dire need of love and stability.

Her application was shamelessly denied – and her story offers a chilling insight into the way gender activism has infiltrated our institutions of government.

In January 2022, they applied to the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF). As of June this year, they were in the middle of the arduous process, which involves about 30 hours of interviews, home visits and various training sessions.

In March 2023, they were encouraged by a case worker who told them they were “one step closer”. But later that month, her application was essentially stamped with a huge red “No.”

When they requested a hearing and were given access to their files, they were shocked to learn the reason for their refusal, which was spelled out explicitly in the officials’ words.

The file’s authors called them “nice people” but said they would “not provide endorsement to a child who identifies as LGBTQIA.”

Mentioning her devout Catholic faith and involvement as a musician in local churches, it concluded, “Her faith is not supportive and neither are she.”

The Burkes have filed a federal lawsuit against several DCF officers, alleging that the state agency barred them from recording children because of their religious beliefs about gender and sexuality.

“The openness of Massachusetts is very commendable. And it shows it’s also unconstitutional,” William Haun, the couple’s attorney, told The Post.

“The Supreme Court has been very clear that, to use their language, it is ‘despicable against our Constitution’ to say that one cannot participate in these programs because of one’s religious beliefs. Public life is closed to you.”

While the DCF’s decision is gross bigotry against Catholics, it also runs counter to common sense and common views – those that might be held by parents who have many affiliations: Protestant, Jewish, Muslim. And even more significant: also by atheists or agnostics.

The Burkes aren’t some crazy, iconic Westboro Baptist maniacs who would kick a kid out onto the street the moment they started questioning their sexuality and gender. They don’t hold extreme views – or at least their views would have been considered fairly banal until two minutes ago.

When the state polled them on a variety of topics, the answers they gave to these potential scenarios centered around children identifying in the alphabet bracket were nuanced, compassionate, and what any sane person would consider sane and sane parenting would denote.

Kitty, like so many, does not believe in “gender-equitable care” such as puberty blockers for children and calls such measures “chemical castration”. In other words, she doesn’t believe minors should make life-changing decisions before they’re old enough to consent.

What if a child in their care said they were gay?

“There is nothing wrong with that. I’ll love you just the same, but I believe you need to live a chaste life,” Kitty said.

Mike largely agreed with his wife. He would not consider any medical intervention for a child under the age of 18. In his opinion, “Discussing problems can help people understand what’s going on with them.”

The Navy veteran has also been to many gay weddings and said he would attend one if his child wanted to marry someone of the same sex.

How barbaric!

They wanted the children in their care, who are already from vulnerable backgrounds, to really understand themselves before making hasty decisions with their bodies. They also said that they love them just the way they are.

Otherwise, the state praised the Burkes, saying they understood what it meant to be foster parents and that they were able to accommodate children with behavioral health issues. The Burkes were willing to accept children of all races and children with mental health problems.

After all, so many factors are considered in this comprehensive process. But only one thing seemed to matter.

The Burkes simply weren’t ready to abandon their own Catholic faith and bow to the religion of trans ideology — a zealous new belief system that requires a total surrender to its own dogma.

The verdict was passed arbitrarily by a state official whose subjective views on gender and sexuality prevented the formation of a family unit.

The Burkes met in high school and reconnected years later on Facebook.

The interviews with the state assessors show an educated couple who love their nieces and nephews. Mike is “Uncle Fluffy”, a joking reference to his height.

Mike, who sought psychiatric treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from his country in Iraq in 2006, said the births of these children were “healing”. people from the salt of the earth.

Medical interventions, whether surgery or puberty blockers, for teens struggling with gender dysphoria remain controversial in the United States. Some European countries are braking operations; The UK has closed its pediatric gender clinic after whistleblowers launched an investigation.

There are fewer than a dozen foster parents (almost 8,500 children were in foster care in Massachusetts alone, according to a 2021 DCF report).

It takes a special someone with an extreme capacity for unconditional love and patience, even knowing the road can be bumpy. As Haun noted, this is often due to religious belief.

“A lot of people’s beliefs motivate them to nurture and help at-risk children, and that’s certainly true of the Burkes,” he said.

Imagine the state taking the same view of a Muslim couple who share the same beliefs on these issues. You wouldn’t dare be so bold.

Parents and guardians are there to guide and love, not to validate every thought that crosses a child’s mind.

And while the Burkes were discriminated against, so were the children in Massachusetts’ care, who were desperate to settle into a home and the warm embrace of mom and dad.

They have to settle for a cold facility or group home until the state finds staunch supporters of gender ideology.