Equality in Kentucky is getting closer; the truth about the Kentucky Senate

Want to know why Kentucky doesn't have a statewide law banning discrimination against gay and lesbian people (the entire community, LGBTI) in employment, housing, credit, and accommodations? The answer is simple, Republicans in the Kentucky Senate always defeat the measure, most of the time without the legislation making it out of committee. (previous story)

However, equality and fairness may be closer than you think.

Long time anti-gay Senate President David Williams is slowly, but surely losing control of the Kentucky Senate. Why? Governor Steve Beshear keeps appointing them to executive positions within his cabinet, and under his control. One by one, Republicans are leaving the Kentucky Senate for higher paying jobs in the Executive Branch of Kentucky's Government, or the Judicial Branch.

Kentucky Democrats gained another chance Monday to increase their numbers in the GOP-led state Senate when Gov. Steve Beshear opened up a seat by appointing a longtime Republican senator to serve as a judge.

Beshear, a Democrat, appointed Sen. Dan Kelly to be circuit judge in Kentucky's 11th Judicial Circuit, which represents four counties southeast of Louisville. Republicans held a 20-17-1 lead - including one independent who tends to side with the GOP - in the state Senate before Kelly's departure.

"I made the decision based on his qualifications," Beshear said.

Senate President David Williams, a Burkesville Republican, had predicted that Beshear would appoint Kelly to the judicial vacancy. Williams said at the time Beshear was "poisoning" the state's political atmosphere by dangling jobs to lure Republicans out of the Senate.

Governor Beshear has helped Kentucky's LGBTI community, but he cannot do more (and neither can Senator Stein, Representative Tom Burch, and others until the Senate changes leadership). (previous story)

In Kentucky, you cannot be fired for being a smoker, but you can be fired for being gay......now THAT is cheating (what the Family Foundation of Kentucky called Kentucky Equality Federation’s coordination of the 2009 National Freedom to Marry Day in Kentucky). I'm sure the Family Foundation of Kentucky is biting their nails off since they are close to most Republicans in the Kentucky Senate, and almost always testify at Senate Committee hearings.

Look the the following statements below from your Kentucky elected lawmakers (source 1, source 2):

Homosexuality is aberrant behavior. - Senate President David Williams (R) (January 2008) (story, and argument with Kentucky Equality Federation President Jordan Palmer)

It's OK to fire someone if they're gay. Historically, homosexuals haven't suffered. - Representative Joseph Fischer (R) (October 2006) (story 1, Kentucky Equality Federation leads protest against Statehouse Rep. Joe Fisher during election debate), and (story 2, Kentucky Equality Federation and Kentucky Fairness Alliance slam a Kentucky Representative)

The University of the Cumberlands stands for what is positive [by expelling a gay student]. - Senate President David Williams (R) (August 2006)

I don't want to entice any of those people [queers] into our state. Those are the wrong kind of people. – Senator Dick Roeding (R) (July 2006)

The Log Cabin Republican Club of Kentucky, a gay GOP group, "are nothing but a bunch of queers." - Senator Dick Roeding (R) (July 2006)

I wouldn't think that there would be a lot of support in the General Assembly for giving benefits to people that were involved in same-sex relationships. Doing so would be bad public policy. - Senate President David Williams (R) (July 2006)

I am committed to protecting traditional marriage. I proudly supported the Same-Sex Marriage Amendment proposal in Kentucky in 2004 and was pleased to see it pass with 74% of the vote. - U.S. Representative Geoff Davis (R) [part of Kentucky's Congressional delegation] (July 2006)

Since 2006, Kentucky Equality Federation, Kentucky Fairness Alliance, and the Louisville Fairness Campaign have trained people to lobby their elected officials in Frankfort for complete LGBTI equality; they have a rally in the Capitol Rotunda yearly in support of this.* (source)

Since pro-gay legislation always passes the Kentucky House of Representatives (the Democratic Party has a huge lead in the Kentucky House), will the same happen if Democrats re-take the Kentucky Senate?

Complete equality and fairness for our community could be closer than anyone thinks.

Support Kentucky's LGBTI organizations that lobby and fight for your rights!

* Special Note: The Lexington Chapter is Kentucky Fairness Alliance separated from the organization at some point in 2007 and is now called Lexington Fairness. Lexington Fairness also participated in the 2007 and 2009 lobbying and rallies.

The repeal of DoMA is dying because it isn't the 'right time.' When is the 'right time'?

Support for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act is wavering in the U.S. House of Representatives since it was introduced by U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-New York) last Tuesday (previous story).

Even openly gay U.S. Representative Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) opposes it, though the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has sued the U.S. Government over it. (previous story).

Why does openly gay U.S. Representative Barney Frank oppose repealing DoMA, and the military's 'Don't Ask Don't Tell?' It's simple, votes and popular opinion! The bill filed by U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-New York) would only required the U.S. Government to recognize gay marriage if they are legal in their home state.

So what's the problem? Didn't these people get elected to office to lead instead of worry about votes? If a political figure worries about losing a few votes to do something that is right, they don't belong in office anyway; they haven't even considered the new number of votes they would pickup by actually doing what is morally right.

Governor Beshear certainly didn't worry about votes from the right-wing when he reissued the executive order protecting LGBTI people again in Kentucky Government (previous story). That was true leadership!

So what do we have now? People in offices (save Governor Beshear) who will only act when they feel the 'time is right.' And since openly gay U.S. Representative Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) has now stated publicly that people should not support the measure in the U.S. House until after the next election, he tipped his hand; they will not vote for him anyway if the oppose gay marriage and LGBTI equality.

Cowardice asks the question - is it safe? Vanity asks the question - is it popular? Expediency asks the question - is it political? But conscience asks the question - is it right? There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, popular, or political; but because it is right.

How long must we continue to fight for what we are legally entitled to?

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. The assertion that "all men are created equal" was of no practical use in effecting our separation from Great Britain and it was placed in the Declaration not for that, but for future use. Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable - a most sacred right - a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world. - Abraham Lincoln

Just like the critics who do not like Marriage Equality Kentucky and Kentucky Equality Federation's joint venture on the Kentucky Marriage Declaration, I must ask again, when is the right time to demand your civil liberties?

We must remember that a government that is big enough to give you all you want is also big enough to take it all away. Government must constantly be placed in-check by her citizens. The first freedom denied by a government to one of its citizens chains us all, and paves the road to begin deconstruction of another liberty, another freedom. - Kentucky Equality Federation President Jordan Palmer

It looks like our political leaders have allowed themselves to become 'slaves' to polls; is this what we elected them for?

Perhaps if they have us a year that they would agree to it and vote it into law, we could all just wait.... but when would that be, 2015, 2020, 2050? How about yesterday!


UNITED WE STAND
Article By: Michael J. Thomas
September 22, 2009

Mongiardo present for Governor's Press Conference today about the budget and Swine Flu

Lt. Governor D. Mongiardo (former Kentucky Senator D. Mongiardo) was on hand today during the Governor's Press Conference about the Swine Flu in Kentucky for his 'medical knowledge.'

Mongiardo is currently running to be part of Kentucky's Congressional delegation, and will be running against Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway in the Democratic Primary.

D. Mongiardo co-sponsored the 2004 Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage in the Commonwealth; D. Mongiardo was a member of the Kentucky Senate at the time.

Below are the sponsors of the 2004 Amendment that PASSED:

Mongiardo is circled, standing to the right of the Kentucky Commissioner of Public Health:

Click here to watch the news conference.

Gay equality in Kentucky Government hasn't hurt Gov. Beshear

According to a Herald-Leader/WKYT Kentucky poll, the approval rating for our new chief of state and government, Governor Beshear, is up 18 points!

It doesn't look like creating job security for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people in Kentucky's Government has hindered the current Governor in the slightest, nor did it help a politically wounded former Governor when he rescinded them in 2006. (story)

The average Kentuckian values equality and fairness!

LGBT People Protected Again in Kentucky Government

Hats off to Governor Beshear! Finally, some good news!

Kentucky Equality Federation started an online petition for this a few weeks ago (though we had no idea the Governor's Office was considering it already). This will give the Family Foundation something else to blog about!

This was pulled from the Commonwealth News Center:

FRANKFORT, KY – Governor Steve Beshear today signed an executive order restoring equal opportunity employment to all employees and prospective employees. Under the order, no one can be hired or fired based on race, age, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity, ancestry, age, disability, or veteran status.

“A person should be hired or dismissed on the basis of whether they can do the job,” said Gov. Beshear. “Experience, qualifications, talent and performance are what matter.”

In 2003, Gov. Paul Patton issued an identical executive order and said he was a strong supporter of fair and equal treatment of employees. He noted that qualifications and conduct in the workplace should be the only factors by which an employee is judged.

However, in 2006 Gov. Ernie Fletcher stripped those job protections (story) from a certain segment of the state employee population - notably Kentuckians who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered. The suggestion was that such protection was either unnecessary, legally expensive or the equivalent of “special treatment.” As a result, a gay person could be fired simply for being gay.

The executive order signed today by Gov. Beshear restores equal treatment, diversity and inclusiveness to government.

This is GREAT! I'm sure former Governor Fletcher isn't very happy with this; he revoked the previous order attempting to appeal to his conservative right-wing to remain in office.

Below is the actual text of the signed order:


You can view a complete copy of the executive order by visiting the Executive Journal of the Kentucky Secretary of State's website, or click here.

House Democrats attack Domestic-Partner Benefits

Democrats in the Kentucky House of Representatives have elected to attack domestic-partner benefits.

Are they crazy? There are over 550,000 Kentuckians without health insurance coverage!

During Governor Beshear’s Inaugural Speech he quoted Kentucky Senator Henry Clay as saying: “Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees. And both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.”

Some House Democrats apparently disagree.

Ryan Alessi at Pol Watchers is also reporting this (below):

Two Democratic state lawmakers are dredging up a controversial proposal to block public universities in Kentucky from extending health benefits to unmarried, live-in partners of the institutions’ employees.

The move by state Reps. Richard Henderson, D-Jeffersonville, and Ancel Smith of Leburn already has raised eyebrows among members of their own party — especially considering new Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear has repeatedly promised to veto any such bills. “I had expected it but not from those two,” said Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, who said he opposes the bill. “I expected it from Republicans.”

Sixteen other Democratic lawmakers have signed on to the bill, which Henderson and Smith pre-filed yesterday in preparation for the upcoming General Assembly session that begins Jan. 8.

Both Henderson and Smith said they have received pressure from constituents to block universities that receive public funding from offering such domestic partnership benefits.

“I live in an ultra conservative district with 150 churches,” Henderson said.

Trustees at several Kentucky institutions, led by the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville, have approved offering health care to domestic partners of unmarried employees, including to gay couples.

Let’s hope Governor Beshear keeps his promise to veto this horrible legislation.