Why doesn’t Kentucky have a statewide fairness ordinance?
I’m not going to bury the lede, so I’m going to hold your hand while I say something y’all probably already know: Kentucky doesn’t have a statewide fairness ordinance.
Around 22 states plus Washington, D.C. have such ordinances in some capacity. Kentucky is not one of them.
Plenty of other states — Kentucky included — have counties or cities with local fairness policies. But, even with two dozen localities in Kentucky enacting their own fairness ordinances, less than one-third of Kentuckians live in areas not protected by such policies.
But it isn’t because state lawmakers — well, at least some state lawmakers — haven’t been trying. Since Kentucky’s 2000 legislative session, nearly 50 bills have been filed to enact some form of statewide fairness.
Obviously, those efforts haven’t been successful. Why is that?
Nearly 25 years of legislative efforts
Some sort of statewide fairness legislation has been filed in Frankfort nearly every year since 2000. (For some reason, no such bill came up in 2007’s legislative records.)
And since 2003 (again, not counting the pesky 2007 situation), such legislation has been filed in both the House and Senate. At times, House Democrats have tried their chances at filing two similar bills in the same year.
But those legislative pushes have failed. Let me be clear — when I say “failed,” I don’t mean the bill got a vote or two and just fizzled out. There was nothing to fizzle out. Outside of a few instances, these bills rarely got even a committee assignment when it wasn’t required. None of them got a vote, according to legislative records.
Now, it’s not uncommon for bills to be filed and not go anywhere in Frankfort. That’s actually the reality of most bills that get filed any given legislative session.
But a recent string of high-profile anti-LGBTQ+ pushes from the GOP, coupled with the GOP’s sheer dominance over Democrats in the state Capitol and their focus on leaving things to local governments rather than “big” governments such as the state, can help explain exactly why a statewide fairness ordinance hasn’t happened.
The power of party (or not)
Let’s start with the numbers. Democrats — who typically sponsor such legislation — make up less than one-fourth of all seats in the House and Senate. Republicans — who have, on rare occasions, cosponsored such legislation — have a supermajority.
Republicans have repeatedly prioritized anti-LGBTQ+ measures in recent sessions. Keeping trans girls and women out of girls and women’s sports. Multiple efforts aimed at limiting drag queens (FYI: this one failed — twice). Banning gender-affirming health care for minors, even if their parents and doctors agree there is a better path. Allowing teachers to misgender their own students if they’d like.
And that means that even though Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has prided himself on his LGBTQ+ record while in office, pro-LGBTQ+ legislation simply does not make it to his desk.
But, a quick history lesson: Republicans haven’t always been completely in charge of the legislature like they are now.
After the 2000 election, 59.4% of the seats in Kentucky’s legislature — there are 138 of them — were owned by Democrats and the remaining 40.6% were Republicans.
Now, Democrats make up just 19.6% of those seats while Republicans have 80.4%. And a Democrat has been in the governor’s mansion 17 out of the last 25 years, too.
Even though in several situations since 2000, fairness legislation was filed and backed by Democrats in a Democrat-led chamber with a Democratic governor, it still never budged.
“It is far past time for Kentucky to have a statewide fairness law, and we and others in our caucus will never stop trying to make this a reality,” Democratic Reps. Keturah Herron and Lisa Willner — both of whom have sponsored statewide fairness legislation — said in a joint statement. “Whom you love shouldn’t dictate where you can live and work.”
Without statewide ordinance, efforts must be local
But, the duo continued, “Many of our House and Senate colleagues continue to believe that this issue is better left up to local communities, much like laws governing alcohol sales and public tobacco use.”
On top of prioritizing anti-LGBTQ+ bills over statewide fairness, many Republicans also generally believe in the concept of small government. Basically, they’d rather leave some decisions up to local communities and their citizens and elected officials, rather than dictate things from a state level.
Now, there are plenty of instances where Republicans overlooked that particular ideal in favor of a more large government approach, but there is a silver lining when it comes to fairness ordinances.
Lack of state action means room for local action, whether that’s at the county or city level. Kentucky has 24 local fairness ordinances, though Chris Hartman, the leader of the Fairness Campaign, said that may shift soon.
But just because local fairness ordinances are allowed right now, doesn’t mean that could last forever.
Herron and Willner said “with the legislature more and more inclined to preempt local ordinances,” pointing to a recent state removal of some cities’ housing ordinances, “there is growing fear that fairness protections now in place for half of Kentuckians could be next.”
One way to act? Vote, they said.
“If we want a more inclusive, fair, and just commonwealth,” Herron and Willner said, “we must elect leaders who believe in that for everyone, no matter their gender or sexual orientation/preference.”