Despite Fairness Ordinance backlash, Daviess County community promotes LGBTQ+ friendly businesses

OWENSBORO — Chadwick Benefield has been a huge supporter of the Owensboro adopting a fairness ordinance, however many community members are citing religious reason for not backing an ordinance.

Benefield and a team of fellow Fairness advocates teamed up with friends Jeff Sorce and James Whitehouse and decided that for the time being, there is another way to inform community members of LGBTQ+ friendly businesses and created wooden Kentucky shaped and rainbow painted signs that say, “Y’all Means All.”

The design of the sign was inspired by Logan Simon.

“Businesses are very open to it,” he said. “As you know, we are in the middle of movement for a local non-discrimination (fairness) ordinance here in Daviess County. There has been some opposition from a religious sect that represents a handful of local churches (not many, but some). So, we decided (because the overwhelming majority of the community is on our side) to give local businesses a way of showing their solidarity and support.”

Benefield teamed up with friends Jeff Sorce and James Whitehouse, who own a laser-engraving shop called In The Groove, which is located in Owensboro’s downtown business district to make the signs that businesses can put in their windows or on their store doors.

“They’re awesome. Last night, we rolled out the first 200. And we have encouraged businesses, once they have put the sign up, to share photos of their sign and support on social media” he said. “As I said last night when we unveiled the measure . . . ‘What’s the counter argument to this? How can you combat the message of Ya’ll Means All?’ Short answer- you really can’t and I wouldn’t want to be the person that tries.”