Louisville gay ordinance to be pushed statewide
Major success, major momentum gained by homosexual agenda
From Kentucky Citizen Digest, March, 1999

Efforts to pass a gay-rights ordinance in Louisville had failed three times, it was less than 18 months since the last vote, and  it seemed there was little hope for a fourth vote anytime soon.  Then it happened — by a 7-5 margin on January 26 the Louisville Alderman enacted a nondiscrimination employment ordinance that grants “sexual orientation” the same status afforded race, age, and gender.  What’s more, several state legislators have already suggested that they will lead the charge to take the measure statewide in an expanded way.

According to Louisville Alderman Tina Ward-Pugh, the firing of Alicia Pedreira, an avowed lesbian, by the Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children (KBHC) was the tinder that kindled the fire. (For more on this story see page two.)  Pedreira became something of a poster child for the gay-rights ordinance and was used to put a sympathetic face on the issue of employment discrimination.

The ordinance had proposed to ban discrimination against homosexuals in housing, employment, and public accommodations in Louisville but was later modified to cover employment only.  However, even if it had passed in its proposed form, it probably wouldn’t have helped Pedreira since church-based organizations were to be exempted.

But the pro-homosexual group called the Fairness Campaign is taking its fight to another level with at least two strategies.  First, it is asking the state to cut funding to any organization discriminating against homosexuality.  Herein lies the danger of these seemingly innocent, “tolerance” or “civil rights” laws:  once passed, they are then manipulated to utilize the force of government to demand compliance of everyone, including those who may have conscientious or religious objections.

The second front of the expanded effort is the legislation that Rep. Kathy Stein, Democrat - Lexington, and Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, Democrat - Louisville, are saying that they want to introduce in the General Assembly of 2000.  Not only are they advocating statewide legislation, but they are also articulating legislation that would go beyond employment discrimination to include housing discrimination.  In other words, an elderly couple who rents out an apartment in their home could be forced against their convictions to rent to a gay couple if there was suspicion of discrimination.

Pro-family leaders point out that a subtle yet important struggle is being waged by homosexual activists in their efforts to gain public sympathy — they are equating homosexual bias to racial discrimination and trying to recruit Black spokepersons for their cause.

“If I were a minority, I would be offended that this group claims the same protections as those who have suffered for something they had absolutely no control over,” said Bill Smithwick, president of KBHC. “Homosexuality is a choice, there are no conclusive scientific studies demonstrating that homosexuality is genetic.”
 

Key Family Foundation Contacts: Kent Ostrander, Executive Director Martin Cothran, Senior Associate Policy Analyst