FRANKFORT, Ky. _ Gov. Andy Beshear became the first governor to speak at the annual Kentucky statewide fairness rally Wednesday, lending the heft of his office to the statewide movement to prevent discrimination against LGBTQ Kentuckians.
Standing in a Rotunda dotted with rainbow flags, Beshear said he strongly supports a bill to prevent discrimination against LGBTQ people in housing and employment and a bill that would ban the use of conversion therapy on children. The discredited practice attempts to change the sexual orientation of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals.
"You have not been heard nearly enough," Beshear told the crowd. "Let's make sure that changes this session."
Chris Hartman, the chairman of Kentucky Fairness, led a rallying cry calling for "fairness," rebutting an argument often made by opponents that LGBTQ people are seeking special rights and privileges.
People living in Kentucky localities not covered by local fairness ordinances (18 communities in Kentucky have Fairness Ordinances) can still be fired or lose their housing for being LGBTQ. Often, that forces people to either hide their sexual orientation, risk losing a job or move from their hometown.
A recent study found that between 2.9 million and 3.6 million LGBTQ people live in rural America, indicating that up to 20% of LGBTQ people live in rural areas.
In the face of stalled statewide and federal legislation to give LGBTQ people protections against discrimination, the Kentucky Fairness Campaign has made a regional push to get more cities to pass fairness ordinances. Six cities, mostly in Northern Kentucky, added fairness ordinances in 2019 and two have added ordinances in 2020.
Despite the regional progress, it appears unlikely that either a statewide fairness ordinance or a bill banning conversion therapy will gain much traction in the Legislature. State Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, a Louisville Democrat, filed the first statewide fairness bill 20 years ago and the bill has been filed every year since. It has never been voted on in committee.
Hartman said it is the fifth year that a bill banning conversion therapy has been filed in the Legislature. It has never been heard in committee.
That's unlikely to change this year. House Speaker David Osborne, a Prospect Republican, said "no one in either caucus has taken a leadership role" to push through a fairness law.
"I think it's something that does have some limited support but it's just never had that driving force behind it," Osborne said.
The bills, though, have slowly accumulated more support. This session, state Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr, a Lexington Republican, filed a bill in the Senate to ban conversion therapy and implored members to watch "Boy Erased," a movie based on the true story of a young man sent to a conversion therapy camp where he underwent everything from batting practice to intense prayer sessions in an effort to make him straight.
The Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles found that about 700,000 LGBTQ adults have undergone conversion therapy, including around 350,000 who received it when they were adolescents. The American Psychiatric Association has denounced the practice since 1998.
According to the Trevor Project's 2019 report, 39% of LGBTQ youth considered attempting suicide in the past year and those who had gone through conversion therapy were twice as likely to attempt suicide compared to those who did not.
"Let us be the last generation to be afraid to hold our lover's hand in public," said Omar Salinas, an immigration activist and board member with the ACLU. "Let us be the last generation to be fired because of our sexual orientation. Let us be the last generation to be afraid to come out to our parents. Let us be the last generation to be subject to conversion torture."
Some lawmakers also said the state should examine its history of discrimination against the LGBTQ community. State Rep. Patti Minter, a Bowling Green Democrat, said she was filing a bill that would restore state benefits to people who were dishonorably discharged from the military for being LGBTQ.
"Our LGBTQ veterans have served their country for as long as there's been a country," Minter said. "They have served with valor and courage and for years and years, LGBTQ veterans were subjected to discrimination ... and many of them are still alive who were dishonorably discharged from the military for who they were and who they loved."
Earlier this month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom pardoned Bayard Rustin, a civil rights leader who was arrested under California's anti-sodomy law in 1953, and created a clemency initiative for people who were arrested and convicted under California's anti-sodomy laws.
When Beshear was asked if he would look into pardoning people who were convicted under Kentucky's anti-sodomy law, Beshear said he would have to study the issue. Kentucky's anti-sodomy law was overturned by the Kentucky Supreme Court in 1992, but the ruling did not overturn convictions.
"That's the first time I've been asked that question," Beshear said. "It's something we'll have to think about and look at, but we certainly support the rights of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters and where they've been discriminated against we want to look at the issues and take action."
Beshear dismissed a question asking if his appearance at the rally would have political implications, saying he believed he was doing what was right.
"I think it took too long," Beshear said about being the first governor to speak at the rally. "Under this administration, every single Kentuckian counts."
