Kentucky Statewide Fairness Coalition To Rally At State Capitol For LGBT Protections Bill

2/17/10-by Paula Brooks
The newly formed Statewide Fairness Coalition of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, the Fairness Campaign, Kentucky Fairness Alliance, the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights and Lexington Fairness will join with students, legislators and supporters from across the commonwealth on Wednesday, February 24, 1 p.m. to rally the Capitol Rotunda. Supporters will call for a statewide Fairness law protecting all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Kentuckians from discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations.

Statewide Fairness bills have been proposed in both houses of the state legislature. Both Rep. Mary Lou Marzian’s (D-Louisville) House Bill 117 and Sen. Kathy Stein’s (D-Lexington) Senate Bill 138 would amend Kentucky’s Civil Rights Act to include protections based on perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. Currently only the communities of Covington, Lexington/Fayette Co. and Louisville/Jefferson Co. in Kentucky extend such protections, leaving nearly three quarters of Kentucky’s residents vulnerable to legal discrimination.

The Statewide Fairness Coalition was recently endowed by the Tides Foundation’s State Equality Fund, a philanthropic partnership that includes the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, the Gill Foundation, and anonymous donors to further Fairness in Kentucky through education and outreach. The Coalition last month held its second Statewide Fairness Summit where over 100 supporters from across the state convened in Frankfort to collaborate on the work for statewide Fairness.