Chris Hartman on 40 years of struggle

The director of the Fairness Campaign has a great op-ed in the Courier-Journal today, check it:

Just a decade ago, basic civil rights were denied individuals living in Jefferson County. Until 1999, someone could be legally fired from their job, denied housing or denied public accommodations if they were suspected of being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. If that seems shocking, know that for Kentuckians living immediately outside Louisville Metro, it is still a reality today.

Right now, anti-gay discrimination is perfectly legal in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Anti-discrimination fairness laws exist in only three areas in our state: Covington, Lexington/ Fayette County and Louisville Metro — leaving over 75 percent of our commonwealth's residents vulnerable to discrimination without any legal protections. As early as 1999, however, a Decision Research Poll documented 73 percent of Kentuckians supported a statewide fairness law, though the measure has never even come to a committee vote in the state's legislature. With the majority of the commonwealth's population in support of anti-discrimination legislation, and similar laws currently on the books in 20 states across the nation and in the District of Columbia, it would seem logical that Kentucky's legislators would pass this simple civil rights law. This Pride month, in a year when LGBT Americans have witnessed so many victories across the nation, it is time to ask why we have continued to allow legal discrimination in our state.

Go read it all.

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