Date: 07-25-2015
Kentucky legislature’s gay-marriage backlash
By Mike Wynn
The Courier-Journal
FRANKFORT, Ky. – A legislative response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage is already taking shape in Kentucky, with lawmakers and advocacy groups looking to overhaul marriage laws and expand religious freedom next year.
The 2016 General Assembly remains more than five months away, but lawmakers — both Republican and Democrat — have proposed at least two measures to protect county clerks who refuse to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
Republicans also are looking to double-down on protections for faith groups, private colleges and individuals who object to same-sex marriage on religious grounds, though it’s unclear how far lawmakers may seek to amplify Kentucky’s religious freedom law passed in 2013.
Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, said voters are angry with the court’s ruling and demand that the Senate make religious liberty a high priority next year.
“There are those in this left-wing liberal movement who aren’t just satisfied with the Supreme Court decision,” Thayer said. “They want to continue their strident attacks on religion in this country, and people are going to be looking to their state legislatures to help fight back.”
With Democrats holding only a slim majority in the House, Democratic political consultant Danny Briscoe predicted that many could feel obliged to support legislation ahead of the 2016 election.
Some Democrats in conservative districts would have little option, he said. And “the pressure would be enormous” if Republican candidate Matt Bevin wins the governor’s race this year “just because he will continue to lead the parade.”
Meanwhile, Michael Aldridge, executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, said the public remains unclear about the ruling, and politicians who know better are taking advantage of that uncertainty for political purposes.
He said the decision will never force religious leaders to perform same-sex marriages, but “we knew there was a potential backlash when marriage equality became the reality of the land, and sure enough, it’s played out in Kentucky more than most states already.”
More bills are coming
House Republicans, who are in the minority, have already filed two bills for the next General Assembly. One protects ministers, religious groups and county clerks from “civil or criminal liability” when refusing to marry same-sex couples. The other proposes similar provisions to protect clergy.
House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, is also proposing a measure that would allow the state to distribute marriage licenses, possibly online, so that clerks only need to verify and record the information.
But Senate Judiciary Chairman Whitney Westerfield, R-Hopkinsville, said more bills are expected pertaining to private citizens and government employees. He said he hasn’t seen any specific legislation yet, but lawmakers are requesting drafts.
“People hate it. It’s not just conservative districts, it’s not just Republican places,” he said. “Most of the places I’ve gone and most of the people I’ve talked to are very upset.”
Bills are popping up in other states as well.
A measure in Michigan, for instance, would remove government’s role in marriage ceremonies altogether and empower only religious leaders to officiate weddings. A ballot initiative in Colorado would let wedding-related businesses hire subcontractors to accommodate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.
Lawmakers in multiple states are supporting legislation to reiterate that pastors are free to refuse same-sex weddings.
In Kentucky, Martin Cothran, senior policy analyst for the conservative Family Foundation, said the group wants to “set it in stone” that businesses — such as Christian bakers or florists — will not face legal repercussions if they decline to provide services for gay weddings.
He said the state’s current religious freedom law doesn’t do enough to address cases like the Hands On Originals T-shirt company in Lexington.
According to the Herald-Leader, the Lexington Human Rights Commission found that Hands On violated a local anti-discrimination ordinance in refusing to print T-shirts for a gay pride festival. A circuit judge later reversed the decision, and the case remains on appeal.
But Chris Hartman, director of the Fairness Campaign, questions “how much further one can expand an act like Kentucky’s religious freedom act, which is all encompassing and expansive as it gets.” He adds that bills purporting to protect ministers amount to saber-rattling and waste taxpayers’ time and money for political pursuits.
Staking out positions
Cothran believes the potential for passing legislation next year is good, even in the Democrat-controlled House. He notes that Kentucky’s religious freedom law originated in the House in 2013 and that the House later overrode Gov. Steve Beshear’s veto of the bill.
“There’s obviously support there for it,” he said.
Others are more skeptical.
Speaker Stumbo said he doesn’t favor any measure beyond dealing with the clerks issue and that he doesn’t expect efforts to expand religious freedom to get much traction. He said voters in the political center are likely to focus on other issues by the 2016 election.
Likewise, House Judiciary Chairman John Tilley, D-Hopkinsville, said he hasn’t fielded any calls from concerned voters so far and doubts there is enough support to magnify the current law.
Instead, Hartman and the ACLU are pushing for more movement on an anti-discrimination law next year to protect LGBT people in housing, employment and public accommodations. The proposal has received hearings before, and Tilley said it could get a vote in committee next year.
“Hopefully, all this attention will allow us to push it through,” said Aldridge, from the ACLU.
