On Tuday, the Kansas Hoe of Reprentativ overwhelmgly approved a measure signed to brg anti-gay segregatn—unr the guise of “relig...
Contents:
- LAWS AGAST GAY SEX WERE LED UNNSTUTNAL LONG AGO, BUT KANSAS WON'T DROP S BAN
- KANSAS’ ANTI-GAY SEGREGATN BILL IS AN ABOMATN
LAWS AGAST GAY SEX WERE LED UNNSTUTNAL LONG AGO, BUT KANSAS WON'T DROP S BAN
The state's anti-gay discrimatn bill is doomed, but this is jt the first we've seen of stand-alone "relig liberty" bills. * kansas anti gay law *
Horn, who is gay, said that hurts the muny by hrg enomic velopment while privg of diversy. “I talk to everyday Kansans every day who are exced about this bill's abily to protect women's opportuni, ” she rporate Ameri recent years has shown signs of disfort wh stat wh polici perceived to be unpopular wh nsumers — over everythg om gay marriage to voter supprsn.
“I actually me out as gay when I end my marriage five years ago, and that end up not beg who I am.
KANSAS’ ANTI-GAY SEGREGATN BILL IS AN ABOMATN
GOP lawmakers proposed ordated anti-gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr laws the stat’ legislatur. That isn’t our future. * kansas anti gay law *
Last week, lawmakers the state's Republin-ntrolled Hoe of Reprentativ set off outrage across the untry by passg a law that would not only make legal for private bs to discrimate agast gays, lbians, and transgenr people; would also perm state employe-long obliged by our legal tradn to serve all ctomers on equal terms-to ny LGBT people basic servic as long as they are motivated by "scerely held relig beliefs. " Narrow exemptns for relig and religly-affiliated stutns have creasgly bee a standard part of gay-marriage bills as more and more stat beg to enact equal marriage legislatively stead of rponse to a urt lg.
But the Kansas law go far beyond such targeted exemptns by sanctng anti-gay discrimatn nearly every arena of public life. What mak Kansas Hoe Bill 2453 pecially vic is that 's already legal to discrimate agast gay people Kansas, where gay marriage has been banned by nstutnal amendment sce 2006. Unlike stat like New York or California, which outlaw discrimatn on the basis of sexual orientatn employment and "public acmodatns, " gays and lbians Kansas have no siar laws makg illegal to kick someone who is gay or lbian out of a rtrant on Valente's Day, refe to rent them an apartment, or fire them om a job on acunt of their sexual orientatn.
* kansas anti gay law *
"This is new that the Kansas law aims to create exemptns to protectns that don't even exist yet, " says Jenny Pizer, law and policy director at Lambda Legal, a gay civil-rights group, and a member of the legal team that succsfully challenged California's gay-marriage ban. Rpondg to the avalanche of news stori soundg the alarm among gay-rights supporters, the print of the Republin-ntrolled state Senate assured the bill would not pass the chamber s current form. Kansas's anti-gay discrimatn bill was a clear se of nservative overreach.
Kansas's anti-gay discrimatn bill was a clear se of nservative overreach, says Douglas Layck, a law profsor at the Universy of Virgia who has advised state legislatur on craftg relig exemptns to gay-rights legislatn-one that uld make harr for relig nservativ to secure more narrow exemptns the future. "It plays to stereotype om [gay-marriage supporters] that there's no difference between relig fah and pla old-fashned bigotry. " Kansas's anti-gay discrimatn law is jt the begng.
In a move that shocked progrsive advot Kansas, the state's Republin ernor on Tuday issued an executive orr to remove discrimatn protectns for gay, lbian and transgenr state employe. * kansas anti gay law *
As I argued back November, seeg feat on the horizon the gay-marriage wars, social nservativ have shifted gears. " Typilly, social nservativ have phed for exemptns blue stat like New York or Vermont only once the legislature has begun nsirg gay-rights legislatn.