01/31/2008
Kentucky Senate Passes Bill Banning Benefits for Gay Partners
The Kentucky Senate has passed a bill that would ban universities and state agencies from offering benefits to the partners of gay and lesbian employees:
"The vote on Senate Bill 112 was 30-5, with Democratic Sens. Ernesto Scorsone of Lexington, Denise Harper Angel of Louisville, Gerald Neal of Louisville, R.J. Palmer of Winchester and Tim Shaughnessy of Louisville voting against it. 'The only thing that drives this measure is a gay-bashing effort,' said Scorsone, a homosexual. Proponents of the bill say allowing universities to offer domestic-partner benefits violates the Kentucky Constitution, which was amended in 2004 to ban same-sex marriage. 'I have sympathy for Sen. Scorsone,' said Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville. 'I know it's difficult for him to deal with this issue. Nobody directed any comments at him, nor would we have stood for anyone to say anything disrespectful on the floor.'"
Bunch of bigots. Isn't it great how even the Courier-Journal paints Scorsone as not really a person but: 'a homosexual'.
The bill passed on religious values. Said sponsor Vernie McGaha, R-Russell Springs: "I do not recognize domestic partnerships as being a correct thing. My Bible teaches against it."
The bill now awaits a House vote. Thankfully, a similar bill failed to pass there last year.
Posted 12:06 PM EST by Andy Towle in Discrimination, Kentucky, News | Permalink
Like it?
Subscribe to FREE Towleroad daily headlines with our RSS feed!
RECENT STORIES:
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
Ugh. This is humiliating. I'm from Kentucky and lived there until moving to Madison three years ago. It's bad enough Kentucky's home to the creationist museum, and now we have this. What happened to the separation of @#$%ing church and state? "My bible teaches against it." Seriously? Are you kidding? I really wonder how many senators there have mistresses or cheated on their spouses... pretty sure the bible has a few things to say on that subject as well...
Posted by: Sarah | Jan 31, 2008 4:28:39 PM
it's bad enough when slack-jawed bigots proscribe civil rights from citizens who pay taxes just like themselves. but it's even more noisome when they justify their actions with a book they profess to love. it's not for nothing that christians of this sort were once called "cretins".
MATT, go f**k yourself. i can't imagine anyone else would want to.
Posted by: nic | Jan 31, 2008 5:00:48 PM
This is one of those "And who's going to stop us?" moments in politics. Normally a hallmark of conservative thinking, but I suspect everyone is susceptible.
Posted by: anon (gmail.com) | Jan 31, 2008 6:33:33 PM
Boy am I glad I live in Louisville and not Kentucky. The rest of the state won't claim us...and good riddance.
Posted by: Bry | Jan 31, 2008 6:58:54 PM
And, uh, Craig...check the Towleroad main page updates for your own hate breeding white trash of the Hoosier State and their marriage amendment. As an IU grad, I know you've got the bigots just like we've got em.
Posted by: Bry | Jan 31, 2008 7:03:05 PM
Matt is trolling again folks.
Ignore him.
Posted by: ZEKE | Jan 31, 2008 8:44:55 PM
what can you expect from a country that forces creationism as a viable alternative to the theory of evolution and science. it is perverse the way america treats and marginalizes it's citizens. people can make fun of canada but at least we don't have our elected officials trying to kill us. god help all of you!
Posted by: dave | Jan 31, 2008 9:14:57 PM
Dave,
Canada is geogrphically huge, but it doesn't have nearly as many people. You have fewer lunatics to deal with.
And you send most of those folks to Alberta, which is almost like an unofficial penal colony for the right-wing crazies. Unfortunately for the U.S., our Alberta is 3/4 of the country.
Posted by: John | Jan 31, 2008 9:24:52 PM
Hi everyone,
I would just like to note that this happened last year, in which I and hundreds of LGBTQ rights activists across the state lobbied against a similar bill in Frankfort, the state's capital. Thankfully, the bill did not advance in the House Health and Wellness Committee. Hopefully the same thing will happen this year, as we don't have the worry of dealing with an anti-gay mayor. I have hope.
Posted by: Keith | Jan 31, 2008 9:29:54 PM
All that time and money devoted to trying to deny people basic rights. But at least they weren't "disrespectful"! Phew.
P.S. I think Matt and Jordan are meant for each other, they just don't know it yet. Maybe eHarmony can help?
Posted by: Ernie | Feb 1, 2008 12:10:28 AM
KIETH, good luck again, friend.
Posted by: nic | Feb 1, 2008 12:11:21 AM
KEITH, sorry for the typo.
Posted by: nic | Feb 1, 2008 12:35:03 AM
Remember, religion is belief in the supernatural. Challenge any religious person to argue otherwise. Why would we want people basing their policy decisions on the supernatural? The sad thing is, our great saviors, Hilary and Obama are both explicitly religious. Dave, we may be joining you in Canuck country (but not Alberta, for obvious reasons).
Posted by: David R. | Feb 1, 2008 1:07:01 AM
I love Kentucky. I grew up there and se so much of the benefit it has to offer. Something so many people believe in is the right to arms. I would advocate shooting the left leg off of each person that voted against it. then see how they like feeling the pain that gays feel every time they are kicked in the head. Violence against intolerance...it's the new peace. I wonder if the world would change with a few more legless politicians.
Posted by: sfpromo | Feb 1, 2008 2:14:34 AM
Mike, you have a good point, but Alito is still supposed to be impartial, no matter what his religious beliefs are. Supreme Court Judges can be impeached for showing bias. They can't rule on personal feelings, or at least aren't supposed to. So, if we have to fight the Supremes, we can do that too.
As for people like Matt. Fuck him. I know a few gay people that can't be bothered to fight for their rights and the rights of others. I wonder if they'll feel the same when they swing from the gallows with the rest of us?
Posted by: Bobby | Feb 1, 2008 9:54:51 AM
Bobby, I wish what you said about the Supreme Court is true. But, unfortunately, Justices who rule solely on their understanding of the rule of law are on the wane at the court.
Scalia cherry picks his support of states rights when it suits his conservative agenda. (He certainly didn't have a problem restricting states rights in Bush v. Gore.)
Thomas and Alito, I believe, are simply partisan hacks in black robes. The same can primarily be said for Roberts.
On the left, no matter how partisan Ginsberg or Breyer are, they are always much more inclined to follow the rule of law and the concept of stare decisis in their rulings than their conservative counterparts.
To impeach a Supreme Court justice, you need more than just a suspicion that their rulings are politically motivated. If that were the only criteria, there'd be a revolving door at the Supreme Court.
The sad truth is that it is, at its core, as political a branch of government as the Legislature or the Executive. Gone are the days when true moderates like O'Connor and Stevens focused narrowly on the rule of law.
Posted by: Mike | Feb 1, 2008 11:34:51 AM
Well, no disrespect meant Mike, but that's really sad if it's true. I hope one day we can live without the fear of persecution from so called "Christians" and other religious nuts.
Posted by: Bobby | Feb 1, 2008 4:30:46 PM
Thanks, NIC. And no problem about the typo, people do that all the time.
Posted by: Keith | Feb 1, 2008 7:00:59 PM
I live in Kentucky. I am neither backwards nor discriminatory. Those of you who post that you'd never visit Kentucky and grouped all Kentuckians as white-trash, ill educated, rednecks promote the same treatment towards right-minded Kentuckians as my mindless congress did upon GLBT couples in Kentucky. Shame on you.
Posted by: Alena | Feb 5, 2008 5:57:06 PM