Posted: May 2, 2003

Activists cheer Kentucky town's new law

Covington, KY--After much lobbying by gay rights activists, a small Kentucky town on Tuesday expanded its human rights ordinance to include nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Kentucky Fairness Alliance (KFA) spearheaded Tuesday's vote in Covington amid stiff opposition from a Cincinnati-based anti-GLBT group and its Kentucky offshoot, according to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF). The town has a population of less than 45,000. The KFA had worked closely with the Covington Human Rights Commission.

"In yet another victory for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community, Covington, Kentucky, city commissioners voted unanimously (5-0) to expand their existing human rights ordinance by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the already protected classes of the ordinance," said Lorri L. Jean, executive director of NGLTF, while showering praise on the KFA struggle.

The KFA's central and eastern Kentucky organizer Matt Nicholson added, "The coalition building KFA did with various communities, including the NAACP, the disabilities community and various faith-based communities is unprecedented -- and the quality of life not just for GLBT people, but for all historically oppressed Kentuckians, is that much better due to this fair-minded vote by the Covington city commissioners."

The Covington vote followed on the heels of the NGLTF's Ohio Valley Power Summit, attended by 120 GLBT community leaders and allies from diverse U.S. cities. That summit focused on preparing for ballot measures and legislative campaigns.

According to Dave Fleisher, NGLTF director of organizing and training, last year's $1 million Arcus Foundation Grant and a recent anonymous gift of $1.1 million enabled the NGLTF to fit the needs of GLBT communities "not only in the Ohio Valley, but across the country as well." Ohio Valley has the reputation of being a main battleground for pro- and anti-GLBT activists.

In 1993, Cincinnati became the only U.S. city with a charter (Article XII) banning civil rights protections based on sexual orientation, largely due to the anti-gay Citizens for Community Values (CCV), headed by Phil Burress. However, in a reversal, Cincinnati adopted a hate crimes ordinance in February that is inclusive of sexual orientation.

NGLTF's Jean said, "Anti-GLBT organizations are going the way of 8-track tapes in today's MP3 world."

Posted: April 12, 2003

KY Town Flooded With Anti-gay Letters

Covington, KY-- Letters condemning homosexuality and accusing some local council members of trying to "normalize'' gay behavior have been sent to 20,000 Covington households.

The mass mailing was sent by a group calling itself Citizens for Community Values and comes less than two weeks before the Covington City Commission is scheduled vote on an expanded human rights ordinance that would protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people from discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations.

The anti-gay group is funded by the conservative Christian group Family Research Council based in Washington, D.C.

"[Gays] are about forcing all of us to accept homosexual behavior as normal, healthy and natural," the letter says. " They are about capturing the minds of the next generation-our children! And they are intended to be one important step toward legalizing same-sex marriages in Kentucky and across the nation."

The letter includes a 24-page booklet published by FRC that maintains homosexual behavior "has serious emotional and physical dangers associated with it."

A separate letter from CCV was sent to members of the City Commission, most of whom are Catholic, saying the Vatican maintains that " anti-discrimination laws that includes sexual orientation are damaging to families, so the Church discourages such legislation."

The letter reminds them that Catholic politicians must follow the tenants of the faith.

An angry Covington Mayor Butch Callery said: "I thought we had separation of church and state." A spokesperson for the Diocese of Covington, declined to comment on letter except to say that it had not been requested, sent or paid for by the Catholic church.

At recent public hearings in Covington, representatives of the parish councils at Mother of God Church and the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, along with representatives of several Protestant churches, expressed support for the proposed ordinance.