As Kentucky’s legislative session rages on, Wednesday saw a scene frequently all too absent at the state Capitol: Unwavering queer joy, strength and solidarity led by Gov. Andy Beshear.

LGBTQ+ people and their allies, sitting lawmakers and political candidates, labor organizers and racial justice advocates, one drag queen and at least two tiny black bunnies all piled into a meeting space near the Capitol Wednesday afternoon for the annual Fairness Rally. 

This year’s event looked a little different. The rally’s normal location in the storied, marbled Capitol Rotunda is closed for renovations, forcing the event into the far smaller, far less majestic Capitol Education Center — a nondescript, unassuming government building on the edge of the Capitol grounds more frequently home to school field trip groups than hundreds rallying for LGBTQ+ rights. 

But the energy, enthusiasm, rousing speeches and thundering applause synonymous with the Fairness Rally and LGBTQ+ advocacy in Frankfort remained the same. 

For around an hour, a star-studded list of speakers including Gov. Andy Beshear and Kentucky’s first openly gay poet laureate Silas House encouraged the audience to remain resilient and don’t let Kentucky’s often hostile political environment discourage and drain you.

Gov. Andy Beshear speaks at the annual Fairness Rally in Frankfort, urging supporters to remain resilient as lawmakers consider Senate Bill 72 and House Bill 468 during the 2026 legislative session. Photo by Skylar Davis.

“Don’t back down — not to a Republican supermajority here, not to a president elsewhere,” Beshear said. “We know what’s right. We know we’re on the side of right, and I’ll keep standing up to him, or them, because I believe in you.”

Beshear became the first sitting governor to attend the Fairness Rally years ago, and he still shows up. And as the Democrat’s national profile grows amid a potential presidential run, his defense of the LGBTQ+ community has been a major talking point. 

Beshear has vetoed most anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have come across his desk from the GOP supermajority legislature (vetoes that were swiftly overridden). More bills may end up on his desk in a few weeks, as Kentucky’s legislative session heads into March. 

At least eight bills that could have a negative impact on the LGBTQ+ community have been filed so far this session, and lawmakers have until the first week of March to file new legislation. 

Two key bills brought up Wednesday were Senate Bill 72, which would allow health care providers to refuse to do any service they feel violates their beliefs, and House Bill 468, which would make it harder to enforce local fairness ordinances. 

SB 72 passed out of the Senate earlier this month and now awaits its fate in the House, while HB 468 passed out of committee Wednesday and could get a full House vote as early as Friday. 

Kentucky Poet Laureate Silas House speaks at the annual Fairness Rally in Frankfort, encouraging resilience as lawmakers consider bills impacting the LGBTQ community during the 2026 legislative session. Photo by Skylar Davis.

Other bills that have been filed but haven’t started moving in the legislative process seek to restrict drag performers and restrict access to gender-affirming medical care for those on taxpayer-funded health plans. 

There are still several weeks left in the legislative session, and the pace is picking up. Several reminded folks to stay vigilant and engaged. 

“When we refuse to back down, they will have no choice but to listen,” Senate Minority Floor Leader Gerald Neal, a Louisville Democrat, said. “Fairness is not up for debate. 

“We will not wait for permission to claim what is rightfully ours,” he continued. “We will keep pushing, we will keep fighting, and we will make sure that when history looks back on this moment, it will see not just the injustice we faced, but the strength of the people who refuse to accept it.”