Kentucky’s “anti-fairness bill” passes House Judiciary Committee minutes before Fairness Rally
photo by Jon Cherry for Queer Kentucky
On the same day as the Fairness Rally and Lobby Day for LGBTQ+ rights, the House Judiciary Committee planned a hearing at 10 a.m. to hear what is being referred to as the “anti-Fairness law,” or House Bill 47.
HB 47 would, “allow for private individuals to sue one another over violations of religious freedom,” and it was named as anti-LGBTQ+ by the American Civil Liberties Union as a religious exemption bill.
Rep. Rawlings, the sponsor of the bill, began the hearing with a committee substitute and a guest, where he introduced counsel from the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). The ADF has been designated as an extremist hate group according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
With the nature of the bill utilizing subjective religious freedom for lawsuits, critics raised concerns for legal chaos in frivolous lawsuits, lawsuits motivated by hate or bigotry, and targeting of Fairness Ordinances. Rep. Nemes raised this as a concern, with Rep. Rawlings agreed to more narrowly tailor the bill to ensure Fairness Ordinances would not be targeted.
Rep. Keturah Herron, Kentucky’s first and only openly LGBTQ+ House member, brought up Sunrise Children’s Home, the largest provider of services to children in crisis in Kentucky. The organization is owned and operated by the Southern Baptist Convention, and Rep. Herron brought up how Sunrise did not want to place children with same-sex couples. She posed the question to the bill sponsor, “So, Sunrise Children’s Home would be able to discriminate me?” The bill sponsor responded by saying, “I’m sorry you feel that way.”
Rep. Pamela Stevenson, who gave viral commentary against anti-LGBTQ+ legislation last year, inquired about how religion is defined and why. She further inquired as to why we are trying to let people do “bad things” under the guise of religion.
Kent Gilbert, from the Council of Churches, noted that none of his organization’s representatives were talked to about this “religious freedom” bill. After discussing how being offended is not a right in civil society and how this isolates the public, Gilbert said that it is clear the people who wrote HB 47 are not experienced in legislating religious freedom. He even made an offering, “We’re happy to help.”
A common critique around anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is that these types of bills deter young folks from staying or moving to locations with such strict regulations. Dr. Bonnie Meyer, an educator of 20 years, and Erica Fields, president of Civitas LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce, both comment on how HB 47 would drive people out and keep talent away from Kentucky.
Chris Hartman, the director of the Fairness Campaign, spoke on the bill. He began by acknowledging the hundreds of people who came to testify against HB 47. He claims that Kentuckians are opposed to HB 47, saying, “We shouldn’t create sweeping religious exemptions for people to file lawsuits over anything they don’t agree with, using taxpayer dollars.”
In further commentary, Rep. Stevenson said, “I find it hard to believe that we didn’t consult the people most affected by this bill when writing it, but suddenly we’ll consult them when amending the bill? I don’t think so.”
HB 47 passed in the House Judiciary with 14 yes and 6 no votes, meaning it still needs to pass the Senate and be signed into law before it can take effect.
Despite the air of disappointment in the bill passing, the Fairness Rally took place shortly after.
Chris Hartman, director of the Fairness Campaign, led the rally, with folks singing, chanting, and giving speeches throughout.
Among the speakers were both Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman and Governor Andy Beshear, who are both the first of their positions to attend Fairness rallies and support LGBTQ+ pride.
In his speech, Beshear noted how he vetoed the 2023 omnibus anti-LGBTQ+ bill, SB 150. He spoke of how his faith teaches him that all children are children of God, and that we are to love our neighbors and be kind to each other.
Noting how his opponent, Daniel Cameron, ran controversial ads that were anti-LGBTQ+, Beshear said how worried he was for the pain the commercials would cause. Despite the pushback from Cameron’s campaign, Beshear said, “We beat him – in what? In Kentucky politics. In a landslide.”
He continued, “Where they ran the meanest commercials, they did the worst. That should tell you about the people of Kentucky.”
Rep. Keturah Herron called up every LGBTQ+ person running for office in Kentucky. She noted being inspired by all of the young people who organized against the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation last year, as well as the young people who were there this year, continuing the same fight.
This story is part of a series from Queer Kentucky focused on following the 2024 Kentucky General Assembly from a queer lens. Follow Queer Kentucky on your favorite social media platform to stay up-to-date with our GA24 coverage.
