The Kansas Legislature today formally introduced a bill to ban discrimination against LGBT+ citizens.
The bill’s 55 sponsors are a mix of Democrats and moderate Republicans, including three female legislators who flipped from Republican to Democrat in December 2018. One of those legislators, Senator Barbara Bollier of Mission Hills, cited the Kansas GOP’s overt hostility towards the LGBT+ community as her reason for becoming a Democrat, specifically calling out a resolution adopted in February 2018 by the state party which explicitly targeted transgender Kansans.
Historically Bigoted
Kansas was one of the first states to pass a Constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriages (2005), and has continued to harass and bully LGBT+ Kansans through employment and housing discrimination. In May of last year, the Kansas Legislature passed by a one-vote margin a law to allow agencies to cite religious beliefs and use taxpayer funds to deny same sex families the right to adopt or become foster families. Representative Tom Cox (R — Shawnee) cast a deciding vote in favor of the adoption discrimination bill, but has come out as a supporter of the non-discrimination bill.
Historical Progress
Equality is on the move in Kansas at dizzying speed. In November, Kansas elected its first openly gay Congresswoman, Sharice Davids (D — KS 3rd Dist). Two openly gay Kansans, Brandon Woodard of Lenexa and Susan Ruiz of Shawnee, were elected to the Statehouse.
As promised, newly-elected Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s first executive order banned discrimination in state employment, and she also extended that protection to businesses who contract with the state.
Several cities have added non-discrimination ordinances (NDOs), and more are pursuing them.
History Yet To Come
Legal progress for LGBT+ Kansans has so far arisen in the blue, highly-populated suburban northeast corner, led by Johnson and Wyandotte Counties. The deeply red rural culture is much more entrenched and change-resistant. Most churches and affiliated organizations — not coincidentally also affiliated with the Kansas Republican Party — continue to preach and teach bigotry.
Visibility is key to changing hearts and minds, and representation does matter.
The bill introduced today, spearheaded by Representatives Woodard and Ruiz, takes that crucial first step towards converting visibility into equality.
Read the bills here:
House Bill 2130
Senate Bill 84