Fairness Moving Forward

On August 6, Dayton became the 12th city in Kentucky to pass a fairness ordinance!

Mayor Ben Baker, who helped found the Northern Kentucky KFTC Chapter and served as its Steering Committee representative for several years, led a process that resulted in 5-0 vote in support of extending non-discrimination protections to LGBTQ+ Kentuckians living and working in the city! (You can watch the video here!)

This is another important step in the march for statewide fairness, and many people are wondering where will be next? Henderson in western Kentucky became the 11th city in late June, and following a discussion at the August 19 the city of Fort Thomas (which neighbors Dayton) will be exploring an ordinance through in the Law, Labor and License Committee. Highland Heights may discuss the issue in September, and Georgetown will have a reading on fairness on August 26.

Many members across the state continue to push forward on the issue, from Shelby County to Pikeville to Somerset and elsewhere, to plan events aimed at raising the need for these basic non-discrimination protections across the commonwealth.

Of course, while fairness ordinances go a long way toward creating legal equality, they do not create equity. The attacks of Kentucky's current governor and some legislative leaders on quasi-government funding, such as health departments, hurt marginalized communities, like queer Kentuckians, low-income Kentuckians and others.

It especially hurts marginalized communities that are largely dependent upon private, religious health care, where LGBTQ+ people may not have all of their needs met. The fact that Kentucky still allows conversion therapy, which is legalized psychological torture to LGBTQ+ youth, is a serious threat to the community's safety. 

To continue this work we will be working with allies across Kentucky. An inaugural Western Kentucky Pride Festival will take place in August 24 and 25 in Paducah, with Shelbyville having their first on September 14! Members working with the Fairness Campaign and Georgetown Fairness in the Rolling Bluegrass chapter are planning another Georgetown Pride on October 19. There also are upcoming Pride celebrations this fall in Bowling Green on October 5, Frankfort on October 12 and Pikeville on October 12!

To learn more about this work, and what you can do, reach out to a KFTC organizer to talk about what your chapter's capacity could be to grow this work.