Posted March 12th, 2010 5:59 am

There are two ways to view the fact that the struggle for civil rights continues to be so vigorous 50 years after then Kentucky Governor Bert Combs created the first state human rights agency south of the Mason-Dixon Line. One view is that it should have been over long ago—why has it taken so long?

The other view is that the value and commitment to civil rights for all has become more institutionalized in Kentucky, and that commitment will forever continue to chip away at remaining discrimination.

Gov. Steve Beshear will sign a proclamation in the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort at 2 p.m. March 18, recognizing the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights for a half-century of service.

Today, the more overt racial discrimination is generally unacceptable. Discrimination based on sexual orientation continues to be not only acceptable, but embraced by huge parts of society. GLBT rights are the civil rights battleground today. It is worth noting that Kentucky’s role has mirrored the national fight—Democratic leaders who are generally willing to protect those rights, and Republican leaders who are generally willing to pander to bigots by denying those rights.

On June 2, 2008, Governor Beshear righted a wrong of Ernie Fletcher’s:

Governor Steve Beshear today signed an executive order restoring equal opportunity employment to all state 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 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 state government.

Protection in state government is fine, but is hardly the final resolution. Although there are local fairness ordinances, the protection needed is to amend Kentucky’s s Civil Rights Act to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as protected classifications.

As a post by Michael Aldridge, Craig Cammack, Chris Hartman, Travis Myles and George W. Stinson notes,

This would prohibit discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Kentuckians in employment, housing and public accommodations. Even today, any person suspected of being gay or transgender outside Lexington, Louisville or Covington may be legally fired from their job, denied housing, or withheld access to any public accommodation — such as a bus ride or service in a restaurant.
Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia currently enforce such fairness protections, and of the 29 states that do not, more than 70 of their cities and counties extend protections to their gay and transgender citizens. Approximately 25 percent of our state’s population resides in the three communities with existing fairness laws, and Census data indicates that large numbers of individuals also commute into these communities during the workweek. Consequently, approximately 30 percent of Kentuckians are protected from this type of discrimination, yet this simple equality proposal has never even come to a committee vote.
This year marks more than a decade since Lexington and Louisville passed their fairness ordinances — the same year a Decision Research Poll documented 73 percent of Kentuckians supported statewide fairness protections. This law is long overdue in our commonwealth, and if we do not act quickly, we will surely lose our place in history as the nation’s southern leader of equality.
On June 2, 2008, Gov. Steve Beshear adopted an executive order stating a broad and inclusive policy of nondiscrimination in state government employment. Governor Beshear recognizes the time has come for Kentucky to join the 21 other states that have already enacted laws protecting gay and transgender people, and we must too.
Just as Kentucky led the south in 1966 by becoming the first southern state to pass a civil rights law applicable to employment and places of public accommodation, and led the region in 1968 by becoming the first southern state to pass protections in housing, we must now boldly, resolutely take up the challenge to lead the south into a new era of equality for everyone. We must affirm our commonwealth’s legacy by becoming the first southern state to stand united for fairness.
If you cherish Kentucky’s rich history as the southern civil rights leader, then look not only to our past, but also to our fair and equal future.
Aldridge is executive director of ACLU-KY. Cammack is chairman of Lexington Fairness. Hartman is director of the Fairness Campaign Louisville. Myles is chairperson of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance. Stinson is chairperson of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights. They are all members of the Kentucky Statewide Fairness Coalition.

To learn more about the Fairness Alliance in Kentucky, click here.

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