It might seem impossible in the state that twice elected Sam Brownback as governor, but a bill to prohibit anti-LGBT discrimination is finally going to get a hearing nearly 11 months after it was first introduced.
The bill, HB2323, was introduced by Rep. John Carmichael (D-Wichita) during the final hours of last year’s legislative session, in response to Brownback’s decision to rescind a nondiscrimination executive order for LGBT state employees that was issued by former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D).
The bill, as introduced, amends a number of statutes to include sexual orientation and gender identity among a list of protected classes when it comes to discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. House Judiciary Chairman John Barker (R-Abilene) has granted the bill a hearing on Jan. 14, three days after the legislature convenes for its 2016 session, The Wichita Eaglereports.
While the bill is unlikely to pass the Republican-dominated legislature, or even emerge from committee, Barker has at least promised to hold a hearing on the issue. But social conservatives are expected to mobilize their forces to defeat the bill, claiming it violates their First Amendment rights to express their religious beliefs.
“It will of course be up to the committee and the whole body, but I think it needs to be aired,” Barker told the Eagle. “And I like to listen to people. I like to listen to both sides of an argument.”
“I think the people of Kansas need to understand that anti-LGBT discrimination does exist in this state and there are steps we can take to end it,” Tom Witt, the executive director of Equality Kansas, said in a statement expressing support for Carmichael’s bill.
Meanwhile, Carmichael is happy just to get a hearing in front of the Judiciary Committee to ensure that LGBT people will be protected from being unfairly fired or evicted from their homes.
“Where the bill progresses from there, I cannot offer a guarantee,” he told the Eagle. “I think it depends in large part on what happens in the hearing and quite frankly on what happens in society outside the Capitol as well.”
Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a bill seeking to block the ability of transgender youth to access gender-affirming treatments.
The bill, passed largely along party lines by both chambers of the Republican-led Legislature, prohibits any entity receiving state funds from providing or subsidizing gender-affirming treatments for minors.
It also prohibits individuals or entities receiving state funds, or state employees in their official capacity, from encouraging youth who are suffering from gender dysphoria to pursue either medical or social transition.
A Pennsylvania school board canceled an appearance by Maulik Pancholy at a local middle school's anti-bullying assembly due to concerns over his "lifestyle."
The Cumberland Valley School District school board voted unanimously to cancel the gay actor's scheduled May 22 appearance at Mountain View Middle School in Mechanicsburg, a town of 9,000 people in the state's center, just 10 miles outside Harrisburg.
Pancholy, who played Jonathan on the hit TV show 30 Rock, Sanjay in Weeds, and voiced the character of Baljeet for Disney's Phineas & Ferb, is also an author of novels for young adults, including The Best at It, the story of a gay Indian-American boy and his experience dealing with bullying in a small Midwestern town, and Nikhil Out Loud, about a group of eighth-grade theater kids rising up against homophobia in their community.
The CEO of Allstora, a new online bookstore co-founded by international drag star RuPaul, apologized for carrying books authored by several anti-LGBTQ extremists, including the founder of the Libs of TikTok account.
RuPaul announced the formation of Allstora in a March 4 TikTok video. He touted the platform as a place where readers could access books that might be at risk from censorship bans, offering up to 10 million different titles for sale.
However, the platform quickly came under criticism from the LGBTQ community for including titles that espoused right-wing and anti-LGBTQ messages.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!