Senate Bill 375 sponsored by Glynn County’s Sen. William Ligon passed the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday and would guarantee the ability of religious adoption agencies to turn away gay couples. The measure would allow faith-based agencies to use their religious beliefs as a justification to reject same-sex couples trying to adopt children from the state’s foster care system. But Sen. Elena Parent, who opposes the legislation, said the state foster care system hasn’t declined a contract to any adoption agency because of its religious beliefs, and that agencies already have the ability to refuse service to gay couples.