SB 236 voted down in party line vote 

“A victory for the ACLU,” says family group

LEXINGTON, KY – “We can just hear the champagne corks being popped at ACLU headquarters,” said a spokesman for The Family Foundation of Kentucky in reaction to the defeat late Thursday of Senate Bill 236, a constitutional amendment that would prohibit activist judges from legislating their liberal political opinions from the bench.  Democratic lawmakers in the Senate united to kill the measure in a 22-16 vote.

“This vote was a defeat for the Constitution, a defeat for the idea of representative government, and a victory for the ACLU,” said Martin Cothran, senior policy analyst for The Family Foundation.  “Our hat is off to the ACLU, gay rights organizations, and other left-wing activist groups who are opposing this measure.  We hope to convince some of the Democratic Senators who made common cause with these groups to reconsider their decisions.”

“Kentuckians are tired of seeing courts strike down Ten Commandments displays and seeing laws like the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) shoved down their throats.  They want to be in control of their government and not have to contend with a liberal judicial oligarchy that sometimes seems to think it is the sole branch of government.”

Although the bill was defeated on Thursday, Senate Republicans made a procedural move that will likely result in a reconsideration of the measure.  The amendment would restrict courts from striking down Ten Commandments displays, would prevent municipalities from unilaterally granting special rights to homosexuals, and would prohibit the courts from ordering elected lawmakers to increase taxes.

“If this measure is not passed,” said Cothran, “liberal judges will still have the ability to impose their liberal political agenda through state courts.  We applaud Republican leaders in the Senate for trying to address this problem.”

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Martin Cothran is the senior policy analyst for The Family Foundation, a nonprofit public policy organization that works on behalf of the family and the values that make families strong.