Hello, Fair-minded Friends:
I write to say thank you to everyone that partnered with the Kentucky Fairness Alliance (KFA) and the Murray State University (MSU) Alliance student organization to show Dan Karslake's "For the Bible Tells Me So" in Western Kentucky. And for every one of you that attended, I hope that you left the theater feeling good about the information the film presented and more confident in yourself to discuss the cross-section between religion and sexuality.
I must say that as plans were coming together, I was a bit unsure what the turnout would be. I was pleasantly surprised to see over 125 of you in the audience and overwhelmed by the diversity among the communities present.
Each time I checked my e-mail on Wednesday (actually beginning late Tuesday night), I began receiving very kind and inspiring thank you messages.
I received one from a colleague that said the following after childcare plans fell through, "I'm thankful that my babysitter didn't show up, because it gave my son and me the chance to have a good long conversation -- and for me to instill in him that his sexual orientation is his to discover."
"I was delighted with how well the movie presented so many aspects," came from one of Murray's own religious leaders.
Less than an hour later, a public relations student wrote saying, "Hopefully, it has helped many people to come to terms with who they are and helped them to realize that they deserve to be loved regardless."
I've pondered the messages throughout the day, along with my own feelings from last night's post-film discussion, and must say that "For the Bible Tells Me So" was probably one of the best public education events organized for the fair-minded community in Western Kentucky in several years.
As I said in the media advisory two weeks ago, the film raised serious questions about the compatibility of prejudice with loving your neighbor, and attendees Tuesday echoed that thought.
I, personally, recommend seeing it if you have not. To help those in the Murray State community and to show our appreciation, KFA will purchase a copy of this award-winning documentary and donate it to the MSU Library to be entered into their circulation for future use by students, faculty, and staff.
Again, thank you to everyone that supported the showing and those that attended! It was great to see you at the movies!
PS -- A special thanks to Rev. Ferguson of Metropolitan Community Church of Paducah for moderating the post-film discussion.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
The Great Need of the Hour
This not any type of endorsement, but rather food for thought. This speech by Senator Obama is very good and I'm told it was well delivered. What are your thoughts on his remarks? ~Jody
January 21, 2008
The Great Need of the Hour
Barack Obama
(Note: Senator Obama delivered the following remarks yesterday, January 20, at the Ebenezer Church in Atlanta.)
The Scripture tells us that when Joshua and the Israelites arrived at the gates of Jericho, they could not enter. The walls of the city were too steep for any one person to climb; too strong to be taken down with brute force. And so they sat for days, unable to pass on through.
But God had a plan for his people. He told them to stand together and march together around the city, and on the seventh day he told them that when they heard the sound of the ram's horn, they should speak with one voice. And at the chosen hour, when the horn sounded and a chorus of voices cried out together, the mighty walls of Jericho came tumbling down.
There are many lessons to take from this passage, just as there are many lessons to take from this day, just as there are many memories that fill the space of this church. As I was thinking about which ones we need to remember at this hour, my mind went back to the very beginning of the modern Civil Rights Era.
There are many lessons to take from this passage, just as there are many lessons to take from this day, just as there are many memories that fill the space of this church. As I was thinking about which ones we need to remember at this hour, my mind went back to the very beginning of the modern Civil Rights Era.
Because before Memphis and the mountaintop; before the bridge in Selma and the march on Washington; before Birmingham and the beatings; the fire hoses and the loss of those four little girls; before there was King the icon and his magnificent dream, there was King the young preacher and a people who found themselves suffering under the yoke of oppression.
And on the eve of the bus boycotts in Montgomery, at a time when many were still doubtful about the possibilities of change, a time when those in the black community mistrusted themselves, and at times mistrusted each other, King inspired with words not of anger, but of an urgency that still speaks to us today:
"Unity is the great need of the hour" is what King said. Unity is how we shall overcome.
What Dr. King understood is that if just one person chose to walk instead of ride the bus, those walls of oppression would not be moved. But maybe if a few more walked, the foundation might start to shake. If a few more women were willing to do what Rosa Parks had done, maybe the cracks would start to show. If teenagers took freedom rides from North to South, maybe a few bricks would come loose. Maybe if white folks marched because they had come to understand that their freedom too was at stake in the impending battle, the wall would begin to sway. And if enough Americans were awakened to the injustice; if they joined together, North and South, rich and poor, Christian and Jew, then perhaps that wall would come tumbling down, and justice would flow like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
Unity is the great need of the hour - the great need of this hour. Not because it sounds pleasant or because it makes us feel good, but because it's the only way we can overcome the essential deficit that exists in this country.
I'm not talking about a budget deficit. I'm not talking about a trade deficit. I'm not talking about a deficit of good ideas or new plans.
I'm talking about a moral deficit. I'm talking about an empathy deficit. I'm taking about an inability to recognize ourselves in one another; to understand that we are our brother's keeper; we are our sister's keeper; that, in the words of Dr. King, we are all tied together in a single garment of destiny.
We have an empathy deficit when we're still sending our children down corridors of shame - schools in the forgotten corners of America where the color of your skin still affects the content of your education.
We have a deficit when CEOs are making more in ten minutes than some workers make in ten months; when families lose their homes so that lenders make a profit; when mothers can't afford a doctor when their children get sick.
We have a deficit in this country when there is Scooter Libby justice for some and Jena justice for others; when our children see nooses hanging from a schoolyard tree today, in the present, in the twenty-first century.
We have a deficit when homeless veterans sleep on the streets of our cities; when innocents are slaughtered in the deserts of Darfur; when young Americans serve tour after tour of duty in a war that should've never been authorized and never been waged.
And we have a deficit when it takes a breach in our levees to reveal a breach in our compassion; when it takes a terrible storm to reveal the hungry that God calls on us to feed; the sick He calls on us to care for; the least of these He commands that we treat as our own.
So we have a deficit to close. We have walls - barriers to justice and equality - that must come down. And to do this, we know that unity is the great need of this hour.
Unfortunately, all too often when we talk about unity in this country, we've come to believe that it can be purchased on the cheap. We've come to believe that racial reconciliation can come easily - that it's just a matter of a few ignorant people trapped in the prejudices of the past, and that if the demagogues and those who exploit our racial divisions will simply go away, then all our problems would be solved.
All too often, we seek to ignore the profound institutional barriers that stand in the way of ensuring opportunity for all children, or decent jobs for all people, or health care for those who are sick. We long for unity, but are unwilling to pay the price.
But of course, true unity cannot be so easily won. It starts with a change in attitudes - a broadening of our minds, and a broadening of our hearts.
It's not easy to stand in somebody else's shoes. It's not easy to see past our differences. We've all encountered this in our own lives. But what makes it even more difficult is that we have a politics in this country that seeks to drive us apart - that puts up walls between us.
We are told that those who differ from us on a few things are different from us on all things; that our problems are the fault of those who don't think like us or look like us or come from where we do. The welfare queen is taking our tax money. The immigrant is taking our jobs. The believer condemns the non-believer as immoral, and the non-believer chides the believer as intolerant.
For most of this country's history, we in the African-American community have been at the receiving end of man's inhumanity to man. And all of us understand intimately the insidious role that race still sometimes plays - on the job, in the schools, in our health care system, and in our criminal justice system.
And yet, if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that none of our hands are entirely clean. If we're honest with ourselves, we'll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King's vision of a beloved community.
We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them. The scourge of anti-Semitism has, at times, revealed itself in our community. For too long, some of us have seen immigrants as competitors for jobs instead of companions in the fight for opportunity.
Every day, our politics fuels and exploits this kind of division across all races and regions; across gender and party. It is played out on television. It is sensationalized by the media. And last week, it even crept into the campaign for President, with charges and counter-charges that served to obscure the issues instead of illuminating the critical choices we face as a nation.
So let us say that on this day of all days, each of us carries with us the task of changing our hearts and minds. The division, the stereotypes, the scape-goating, the ease with which we blame our plight on others - all of this distracts us from the common challenges we face - war and poverty; injustice and inequality. We can no longer afford to build ourselves up by tearing someone else down. We can no longer afford to traffic in lies or fear or hate. It is the poison that we must purge from our politics; the wall that we must tear down before the hour grows too late.
Because if Dr. King could love his jailor; if he could call on the faithful who once sat where you do to forgive those who set dogs and fire hoses upon them, then surely we can look past what divides us in our time, and bind up our wounds, and erase the empathy deficit that exists in our hearts.
But if changing our hearts and minds is the first critical step, we cannot stop there. It is not enough to bemoan the plight of poor children in this country and remain unwilling to push our elected officials to provide the resources to fix our schools. It is not enough to decry the disparities of health care and yet allow the insurance companies and the drug companies to block much-needed reforms. It is not enough for us to abhor the costs of a misguided war, and yet allow ourselves to be driven by a politics of fear that sees the threat of attack as way to scare up votes instead of a call to come together around a common effort.
The Scripture tells us that we are judged not just by word, but by deed. And if we are to truly bring about the unity that is so crucial in this time, we must find it within ourselves to act on what we know; to understand that living up to this country's ideals and its possibilities will require great effort and resources; sacrifice and stamina.
And that is what is at stake in the great political debate we are having today. The changes that are needed are not just a matter of tinkering at the edges, and they will not come if politicians simply tell us what we want to hear. All of us will be called upon to make some sacrifice. None of us will be exempt from responsibility. We will have to fight to fix our schools, but we will also have to challenge ourselves to be better parents. We will have to confront the biases in our criminal justice system, but we will also have to acknowledge the deep-seated violence that still resides in our own communities and marshal the will to break its grip.
That is how we will bring about the change we seek. That is how Dr. King led this country through the wilderness. He did it with words - words that he spoke not just to the children of slaves, but the children of slave owners. Words that inspired not just black but also white; not just the Christian but the Jew; not just the Southerner but also the Northerner.
He led with words, but he also led with deeds. He also led by example. He led by marching and going to jail and suffering threats and being away from his family. He led by taking a stand against a war, knowing full well that it would diminish his popularity. He led by challenging our economic structures, understanding that it would cause discomfort. Dr. King understood that unity cannot be won on the cheap; that we would have to earn it through great effort and determination.
That is the unity - the hard-earned unity - that we need right now. It is that effort, and that determination, that can transform blind optimism into hope - the hope to imagine, and work for, and fight for what seemed impossible before.
The stories that give me such hope don't happen in the spotlight. They don't happen on the presidential stage. They happen in the quiet corners of our lives. They happen in the moments we least expect. Let me give you an example of one of those stories.
There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organizes for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She's been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and the other day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.
And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that's when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.
She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.
She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.
So Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they're supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who's been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he's there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, "I am here because of Ashley."
By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.
But it is where we begin. It is why the walls in that room began to crack and shake.
And if they can shake in that room, they can shake in Atlanta.
And if they can shake in Atlanta, they can shake in Georgia.
And if they can shake in Georgia, they can shake all across America. And if enough of our voices join together; we can bring those walls tumbling down. The walls of Jericho can finally come tumbling down. That is our hope - but only if we pray together, and work together, and march together.
Brothers and sisters, we cannot walk alone.
In the struggle for peace and justice, we cannot walk alone.
In the struggle for opportunity and equality, we cannot walk alone
In the struggle to heal this nation and repair this world, we cannot walk alone.
So I ask you to walk with me, and march with me, and join your voice with mine, and together we will sing the song that tears down the walls that divide us, and lift up an America that is truly indivisible, with liberty, and justice, for all. May God bless the memory of the great pastor of this church, and may God bless the United States of America
January 21, 2008
The Great Need of the Hour
Barack Obama
(Note: Senator Obama delivered the following remarks yesterday, January 20, at the Ebenezer Church in Atlanta.)
The Scripture tells us that when Joshua and the Israelites arrived at the gates of Jericho, they could not enter. The walls of the city were too steep for any one person to climb; too strong to be taken down with brute force. And so they sat for days, unable to pass on through.
But God had a plan for his people. He told them to stand together and march together around the city, and on the seventh day he told them that when they heard the sound of the ram's horn, they should speak with one voice. And at the chosen hour, when the horn sounded and a chorus of voices cried out together, the mighty walls of Jericho came tumbling down.
There are many lessons to take from this passage, just as there are many lessons to take from this day, just as there are many memories that fill the space of this church. As I was thinking about which ones we need to remember at this hour, my mind went back to the very beginning of the modern Civil Rights Era.
There are many lessons to take from this passage, just as there are many lessons to take from this day, just as there are many memories that fill the space of this church. As I was thinking about which ones we need to remember at this hour, my mind went back to the very beginning of the modern Civil Rights Era.
Because before Memphis and the mountaintop; before the bridge in Selma and the march on Washington; before Birmingham and the beatings; the fire hoses and the loss of those four little girls; before there was King the icon and his magnificent dream, there was King the young preacher and a people who found themselves suffering under the yoke of oppression.
And on the eve of the bus boycotts in Montgomery, at a time when many were still doubtful about the possibilities of change, a time when those in the black community mistrusted themselves, and at times mistrusted each other, King inspired with words not of anger, but of an urgency that still speaks to us today:
"Unity is the great need of the hour" is what King said. Unity is how we shall overcome.
What Dr. King understood is that if just one person chose to walk instead of ride the bus, those walls of oppression would not be moved. But maybe if a few more walked, the foundation might start to shake. If a few more women were willing to do what Rosa Parks had done, maybe the cracks would start to show. If teenagers took freedom rides from North to South, maybe a few bricks would come loose. Maybe if white folks marched because they had come to understand that their freedom too was at stake in the impending battle, the wall would begin to sway. And if enough Americans were awakened to the injustice; if they joined together, North and South, rich and poor, Christian and Jew, then perhaps that wall would come tumbling down, and justice would flow like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
Unity is the great need of the hour - the great need of this hour. Not because it sounds pleasant or because it makes us feel good, but because it's the only way we can overcome the essential deficit that exists in this country.
I'm not talking about a budget deficit. I'm not talking about a trade deficit. I'm not talking about a deficit of good ideas or new plans.
I'm talking about a moral deficit. I'm talking about an empathy deficit. I'm taking about an inability to recognize ourselves in one another; to understand that we are our brother's keeper; we are our sister's keeper; that, in the words of Dr. King, we are all tied together in a single garment of destiny.
We have an empathy deficit when we're still sending our children down corridors of shame - schools in the forgotten corners of America where the color of your skin still affects the content of your education.
We have a deficit when CEOs are making more in ten minutes than some workers make in ten months; when families lose their homes so that lenders make a profit; when mothers can't afford a doctor when their children get sick.
We have a deficit in this country when there is Scooter Libby justice for some and Jena justice for others; when our children see nooses hanging from a schoolyard tree today, in the present, in the twenty-first century.
We have a deficit when homeless veterans sleep on the streets of our cities; when innocents are slaughtered in the deserts of Darfur; when young Americans serve tour after tour of duty in a war that should've never been authorized and never been waged.
And we have a deficit when it takes a breach in our levees to reveal a breach in our compassion; when it takes a terrible storm to reveal the hungry that God calls on us to feed; the sick He calls on us to care for; the least of these He commands that we treat as our own.
So we have a deficit to close. We have walls - barriers to justice and equality - that must come down. And to do this, we know that unity is the great need of this hour.
Unfortunately, all too often when we talk about unity in this country, we've come to believe that it can be purchased on the cheap. We've come to believe that racial reconciliation can come easily - that it's just a matter of a few ignorant people trapped in the prejudices of the past, and that if the demagogues and those who exploit our racial divisions will simply go away, then all our problems would be solved.
All too often, we seek to ignore the profound institutional barriers that stand in the way of ensuring opportunity for all children, or decent jobs for all people, or health care for those who are sick. We long for unity, but are unwilling to pay the price.
But of course, true unity cannot be so easily won. It starts with a change in attitudes - a broadening of our minds, and a broadening of our hearts.
It's not easy to stand in somebody else's shoes. It's not easy to see past our differences. We've all encountered this in our own lives. But what makes it even more difficult is that we have a politics in this country that seeks to drive us apart - that puts up walls between us.
We are told that those who differ from us on a few things are different from us on all things; that our problems are the fault of those who don't think like us or look like us or come from where we do. The welfare queen is taking our tax money. The immigrant is taking our jobs. The believer condemns the non-believer as immoral, and the non-believer chides the believer as intolerant.
For most of this country's history, we in the African-American community have been at the receiving end of man's inhumanity to man. And all of us understand intimately the insidious role that race still sometimes plays - on the job, in the schools, in our health care system, and in our criminal justice system.
And yet, if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that none of our hands are entirely clean. If we're honest with ourselves, we'll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King's vision of a beloved community.
We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them. The scourge of anti-Semitism has, at times, revealed itself in our community. For too long, some of us have seen immigrants as competitors for jobs instead of companions in the fight for opportunity.
Every day, our politics fuels and exploits this kind of division across all races and regions; across gender and party. It is played out on television. It is sensationalized by the media. And last week, it even crept into the campaign for President, with charges and counter-charges that served to obscure the issues instead of illuminating the critical choices we face as a nation.
So let us say that on this day of all days, each of us carries with us the task of changing our hearts and minds. The division, the stereotypes, the scape-goating, the ease with which we blame our plight on others - all of this distracts us from the common challenges we face - war and poverty; injustice and inequality. We can no longer afford to build ourselves up by tearing someone else down. We can no longer afford to traffic in lies or fear or hate. It is the poison that we must purge from our politics; the wall that we must tear down before the hour grows too late.
Because if Dr. King could love his jailor; if he could call on the faithful who once sat where you do to forgive those who set dogs and fire hoses upon them, then surely we can look past what divides us in our time, and bind up our wounds, and erase the empathy deficit that exists in our hearts.
But if changing our hearts and minds is the first critical step, we cannot stop there. It is not enough to bemoan the plight of poor children in this country and remain unwilling to push our elected officials to provide the resources to fix our schools. It is not enough to decry the disparities of health care and yet allow the insurance companies and the drug companies to block much-needed reforms. It is not enough for us to abhor the costs of a misguided war, and yet allow ourselves to be driven by a politics of fear that sees the threat of attack as way to scare up votes instead of a call to come together around a common effort.
The Scripture tells us that we are judged not just by word, but by deed. And if we are to truly bring about the unity that is so crucial in this time, we must find it within ourselves to act on what we know; to understand that living up to this country's ideals and its possibilities will require great effort and resources; sacrifice and stamina.
And that is what is at stake in the great political debate we are having today. The changes that are needed are not just a matter of tinkering at the edges, and they will not come if politicians simply tell us what we want to hear. All of us will be called upon to make some sacrifice. None of us will be exempt from responsibility. We will have to fight to fix our schools, but we will also have to challenge ourselves to be better parents. We will have to confront the biases in our criminal justice system, but we will also have to acknowledge the deep-seated violence that still resides in our own communities and marshal the will to break its grip.
That is how we will bring about the change we seek. That is how Dr. King led this country through the wilderness. He did it with words - words that he spoke not just to the children of slaves, but the children of slave owners. Words that inspired not just black but also white; not just the Christian but the Jew; not just the Southerner but also the Northerner.
He led with words, but he also led with deeds. He also led by example. He led by marching and going to jail and suffering threats and being away from his family. He led by taking a stand against a war, knowing full well that it would diminish his popularity. He led by challenging our economic structures, understanding that it would cause discomfort. Dr. King understood that unity cannot be won on the cheap; that we would have to earn it through great effort and determination.
That is the unity - the hard-earned unity - that we need right now. It is that effort, and that determination, that can transform blind optimism into hope - the hope to imagine, and work for, and fight for what seemed impossible before.
The stories that give me such hope don't happen in the spotlight. They don't happen on the presidential stage. They happen in the quiet corners of our lives. They happen in the moments we least expect. Let me give you an example of one of those stories.
There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organizes for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She's been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and the other day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.
And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that's when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.
She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.
She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.
So Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they're supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who's been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he's there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, "I am here because of Ashley."
By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.
But it is where we begin. It is why the walls in that room began to crack and shake.
And if they can shake in that room, they can shake in Atlanta.
And if they can shake in Atlanta, they can shake in Georgia.
And if they can shake in Georgia, they can shake all across America. And if enough of our voices join together; we can bring those walls tumbling down. The walls of Jericho can finally come tumbling down. That is our hope - but only if we pray together, and work together, and march together.
Brothers and sisters, we cannot walk alone.
In the struggle for peace and justice, we cannot walk alone.
In the struggle for opportunity and equality, we cannot walk alone
In the struggle to heal this nation and repair this world, we cannot walk alone.
So I ask you to walk with me, and march with me, and join your voice with mine, and together we will sing the song that tears down the walls that divide us, and lift up an America that is truly indivisible, with liberty, and justice, for all. May God bless the memory of the great pastor of this church, and may God bless the United States of America
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Diversity, Not Division by ED Gilgor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 9, 2008
Contact:Christina Gilgor, Kentucky Fairness Alliance Executive Director, (859) 420-6677
DIVERSITY, NOT DIVISION
Human diversity is a wonderful thing. And the wonder of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and allied community is, just how diverse we are. No matter who we are, or how we identify ourselves, there’s room for all in the struggle for fairness. Each of us has a sexual orientation and a gender identity. Each of us deserves recognition and respect.
In a community so broad, complete agreement on every issue all the time is near impossible. To expect such agreement is the height of naïveté. Our local communities and life experiences will, and should, influence our priorities and goals.
At the Kentucky Fairness Alliance we recognize and respect that diversity. It is a central pillar of our strength. KFA and Louisville’s Fairness campaign are two of the oldest and most respected LGBT fairness organizations, not just in Kentucky, but in the entire nation. Our longevity is a testament to our ability to move with changing times, to adapt to changing priorities, and to respond to changing obstacles with dignity and professionalism.
It’s unfortunate that, from time to time, our natural differences are allowed to consume our natural alliances. We’re only human. Our greatest strength, a diverse community, is also our greatest weakness. It’s unspeakably easy to become so focused on our own priorities and goals, that we lose sight of the bigger picture in which we all have a place.
KFA uses circles as an integral part of our service mark. We believe in the power of a circle, where everyone can look each other in the eye and no one feels second-class. Even more powerful, there’s always room for more people in a circle, if everyone agrees to take a step back.
We urge all our allies – past, present, and future – to take a step back, to open the circle and welcome each other into the security of its solidarity. We welcome all fair-minded Kentuckians to join us on February 21 in Frankfort.
We will not always agree on everything, nor should we. Disagreement leads to better decisions. Conflict resolved leads to stronger relationships. But in order to win the fight for fairness we must never let conflict or disagreement overwhelm the truth that unites us all: Kentuckians Value Fairness.
JANUARY 9, 2008
Contact:Christina Gilgor, Kentucky Fairness Alliance Executive Director, (859) 420-6677
DIVERSITY, NOT DIVISION
Human diversity is a wonderful thing. And the wonder of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and allied community is, just how diverse we are. No matter who we are, or how we identify ourselves, there’s room for all in the struggle for fairness. Each of us has a sexual orientation and a gender identity. Each of us deserves recognition and respect.
In a community so broad, complete agreement on every issue all the time is near impossible. To expect such agreement is the height of naïveté. Our local communities and life experiences will, and should, influence our priorities and goals.
At the Kentucky Fairness Alliance we recognize and respect that diversity. It is a central pillar of our strength. KFA and Louisville’s Fairness campaign are two of the oldest and most respected LGBT fairness organizations, not just in Kentucky, but in the entire nation. Our longevity is a testament to our ability to move with changing times, to adapt to changing priorities, and to respond to changing obstacles with dignity and professionalism.
It’s unfortunate that, from time to time, our natural differences are allowed to consume our natural alliances. We’re only human. Our greatest strength, a diverse community, is also our greatest weakness. It’s unspeakably easy to become so focused on our own priorities and goals, that we lose sight of the bigger picture in which we all have a place.
KFA uses circles as an integral part of our service mark. We believe in the power of a circle, where everyone can look each other in the eye and no one feels second-class. Even more powerful, there’s always room for more people in a circle, if everyone agrees to take a step back.
We urge all our allies – past, present, and future – to take a step back, to open the circle and welcome each other into the security of its solidarity. We welcome all fair-minded Kentuckians to join us on February 21 in Frankfort.
We will not always agree on everything, nor should we. Disagreement leads to better decisions. Conflict resolved leads to stronger relationships. But in order to win the fight for fairness we must never let conflict or disagreement overwhelm the truth that unites us all: Kentuckians Value Fairness.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Bill pushed to deny partner benefits
Bill pushed to deny partner benefits
By Art Jester
AJESTER@HERALD-LEADER.COM
Domestic partner benefits for same-sex and opposite sex unmarried couples might face their toughest opposition yet from Kentucky lawmakers after the 2008 General Assembly convenes next week.
Two state institutions -- the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky -- offer the benefits, and they just began in 2007.
But two Democratic state representatives -- Richard Henderson of Jeffersonville and Ancel Smith of Leburn --joined by 16 co-sponsors, are pushing a bill that would ban domestic partner benefits in all state agencies.
A similar bill died a year ago on a tie vote in a House committee. But there is talk of growing momentum that could carry the bill to passage.
When U of L President Jim Ramsey was asked this week whether he is worried, he slumped, frowned and replied: "Yeah." He added: "We've done what we thought was the right thing. We've been trying to say this is what major employers offer, and what we need to offer to compete with our peers."
Ramsey's worry contrasted with the guarded optimism of Kent Ostrander, executive director of The Family Foundation, a leading opponent of domestic partner benefits.
"If the House leadership allows the membership of the entire House to vote, it will pass," Ostrander said. "I would say the bill has a good chance unless there is some underhanded gamesmanship by the House leadership."
Two influential Democratic veterans in the House, budget committee chairman Harry Moberly of Richmond and Charlie Hoffman of Georgetown, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, have not announced their positions. But they said the bill stands a good chance of passage on a House floor vote, although Moberly hedged by saying: "It's kind of unpredictable whether it will get to the floor for a vote."
Hoffman said the result "would probably hinge on which committee the bill would be heard in."
Henderson agreed.
"I think the outcome will depend on which committee gets the bill," he said.
Three committees are in the running: health and welfare, education and judiciary.
The decision will be shepherded by House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, in his role as chairman of the committee on committees. Richards could not be reached for comment. In the past, Richards has said the issue should be left up to the universities.
House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover, R-Russell Springs, said that he and most GOP members support the bill. But Hoover thinks the Democratic leaders won't let the bill make it to a floor vote.
"It's a divisive issue among Democrats," he said.
Democrats have a 60-36 majority in the House, with four vacancies; many of those Democrats are conservatives. In the Senate, the GOP has a 21-15 majority, with one independent and one vacancy.
If the legislature passes the bill, it would go to Gov. Steve Beshear.
"Governor Beshear believes that the issue of domestic partner benefits is one that should be addressed by the individual universities," said his spokeswoman, Vicki Glass. "He would veto a bill passed by the legislature."
Some legislators believe the bill's supporters may have the 60 votes needed in the House to overturn a veto.
Domestic partner benefits have become common at the nation's Fortune 500 corporations, in Kentucky and around the nation, but the benefits still engender opposition in areas of the state where conservative churches abound.
But Henderson said his effort has been misunderstood as a "religious-driven bill." He said he opposes the benefits for several reasons:
• They violate the state constitution's marriage amendment that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman.
• There is the potential for "corruption" because unqualified applicants could pose as "gay lovers."
• He and his constituents place a high value on "protecting family values."
"This is not a hate bill," he said.
The bill drew the ire of State Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee. He said he hopes his committee gets the bill again.
"I think it's a hate issue," Burch said.
He called the measure "non-Christian" because it would deny health insurance at the same time the state wants to expand coverage to all Kentuckians.
Christina Gilgor, executive director of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance, which represents the interests of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, said the issues are "fair and equal employment benefits" and "being valued and treated with dignity."
Gilgor cited a Survey USA poll of Kentuckians last month that showed only 12 percent gave top priority to banning domestic partner benefits.
But her organization, as well as those favoring the bill, will be back in Frankfort with rallies and lobbying.
"It's going to be another spectacle," she said.
By Art Jester
AJESTER@HERALD-LEADER.COM
Domestic partner benefits for same-sex and opposite sex unmarried couples might face their toughest opposition yet from Kentucky lawmakers after the 2008 General Assembly convenes next week.
Two state institutions -- the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky -- offer the benefits, and they just began in 2007.
But two Democratic state representatives -- Richard Henderson of Jeffersonville and Ancel Smith of Leburn --joined by 16 co-sponsors, are pushing a bill that would ban domestic partner benefits in all state agencies.
A similar bill died a year ago on a tie vote in a House committee. But there is talk of growing momentum that could carry the bill to passage.
When U of L President Jim Ramsey was asked this week whether he is worried, he slumped, frowned and replied: "Yeah." He added: "We've done what we thought was the right thing. We've been trying to say this is what major employers offer, and what we need to offer to compete with our peers."
Ramsey's worry contrasted with the guarded optimism of Kent Ostrander, executive director of The Family Foundation, a leading opponent of domestic partner benefits.
"If the House leadership allows the membership of the entire House to vote, it will pass," Ostrander said. "I would say the bill has a good chance unless there is some underhanded gamesmanship by the House leadership."
Two influential Democratic veterans in the House, budget committee chairman Harry Moberly of Richmond and Charlie Hoffman of Georgetown, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, have not announced their positions. But they said the bill stands a good chance of passage on a House floor vote, although Moberly hedged by saying: "It's kind of unpredictable whether it will get to the floor for a vote."
Hoffman said the result "would probably hinge on which committee the bill would be heard in."
Henderson agreed.
"I think the outcome will depend on which committee gets the bill," he said.
Three committees are in the running: health and welfare, education and judiciary.
The decision will be shepherded by House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, in his role as chairman of the committee on committees. Richards could not be reached for comment. In the past, Richards has said the issue should be left up to the universities.
House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover, R-Russell Springs, said that he and most GOP members support the bill. But Hoover thinks the Democratic leaders won't let the bill make it to a floor vote.
"It's a divisive issue among Democrats," he said.
Democrats have a 60-36 majority in the House, with four vacancies; many of those Democrats are conservatives. In the Senate, the GOP has a 21-15 majority, with one independent and one vacancy.
If the legislature passes the bill, it would go to Gov. Steve Beshear.
"Governor Beshear believes that the issue of domestic partner benefits is one that should be addressed by the individual universities," said his spokeswoman, Vicki Glass. "He would veto a bill passed by the legislature."
Some legislators believe the bill's supporters may have the 60 votes needed in the House to overturn a veto.
Domestic partner benefits have become common at the nation's Fortune 500 corporations, in Kentucky and around the nation, but the benefits still engender opposition in areas of the state where conservative churches abound.
But Henderson said his effort has been misunderstood as a "religious-driven bill." He said he opposes the benefits for several reasons:
• They violate the state constitution's marriage amendment that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman.
• There is the potential for "corruption" because unqualified applicants could pose as "gay lovers."
• He and his constituents place a high value on "protecting family values."
"This is not a hate bill," he said.
The bill drew the ire of State Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee. He said he hopes his committee gets the bill again.
"I think it's a hate issue," Burch said.
He called the measure "non-Christian" because it would deny health insurance at the same time the state wants to expand coverage to all Kentuckians.
Christina Gilgor, executive director of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance, which represents the interests of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, said the issues are "fair and equal employment benefits" and "being valued and treated with dignity."
Gilgor cited a Survey USA poll of Kentuckians last month that showed only 12 percent gave top priority to banning domestic partner benefits.
But her organization, as well as those favoring the bill, will be back in Frankfort with rallies and lobbying.
"It's going to be another spectacle," she said.
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