How's that for a week's work?

So, in less than one week Kentucky has seen two victories on the fairness front. The final piece in Kentucky's public university puzzle adopted a fair workplace policy by inserting sexual orientation into their non-discrimination policy and a judge ruled against state dollars going to a private, religion-based institution. How's that for a week's work?

Judge: Money For Anti-Gay Baptist School Wrong
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: March 6, 2008 - 3:00 pm ET

(Frankfort, Kentucky) A judge ruled Thursday that Kentucky GOP lawmakers and former Gov. Ernie Fletcher violated the state constitution by appropriating $11 million in state funding to a Baptist university.

The state had argued that the money, to be used to create a pharmacy school at the University of the Cumberlands, was for the betterment of the state's health and welfare and therefore constitutional.

The LGBT rights group Kentucky Fairness Alliance filed a lawsuit along with advocates for the separation of church and state and the Jefferson County Teachers Association.

Named as defendants were the university, Fletcher and a dozen Republican lawmakers.

Kentucky Fairness Alliance executive director Christina Gilgor called the ruling a victory against state-subsidized discrimination.

The $11 million grant was approved by the GOP controlled legislature and despite pressure to veto the measure Fletcher signed the appropriation but said the funds would be held until after the legal question was resolved.

The legality of the grant grew out of a 2006 incident in which the university expelled a student it found out is gay.

Jason Johnson, 20, was expelled after posting his sexual orientation on a Web site.

The dean's list student received all Fs on his transcript when he was expelled. (story)

Following public outrage the university agreed to allow Johnson to send in work to finish his courses and receive final grades but he was barred from the campus.'

Although the suit was filed by the Kentucky Fairness Alliance there was scant mention of the Johnson situation in legal arguments.

Attorney David Tachau instead argued that the grant did not fall under the heading of "health and welfare" and was instead in support of education at a private, sectarian institution. That, said Tachau, makes it unconstitutional.

In his argument he cited a 1983 ruling that said public money could not be used to buy textbooks for private schools.

The university, represented by Timothy J. Tracey, of the Virginia-based Center for Law & Religious Freedom, argued that the legislature acted responsibly and legally by seeking to address the state's shortage of pharmacists.