Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Hiding his bigotry behind equal protection principles and dragging his state further back into the abyss, Kansas Governor Sam "Troglodyte" Brownback rescinded a 2007 executive order by then Governor Kathleen Sebelius which said state workers could not be discriminated against, fired or harassed because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article9692624.html">http://www.kansas.com/news/pol...624.html</a> Proving he truly doesn't get it (from the link): "Brownback, a Republican, issued an additional executive order affirming that state employees could not be discriminated against because of their race, religion, gender, age or country of national origin. “This Executive Order ensures that state employees enjoy the same civil rights as all Kansans without creating additional ‘protected classes’ as the previous order did,” Brownback said in a short statement that did not specifically refer to sexual orientation or gender identity. “Any such expansion of ‘protected classes’ should be done by the legislature and not through unilateral action.” Brownback claims Sebelius created an additional protected class by adding LBGT workers. While legally he may have a point, the symbolism and actual practical application of what he's done is what makes this such a cowardly act.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 < “Any such expansion of ‘protected classes’ should be done by the legislature and not through unilateral action.”> But it's all right to take protections away through unilateral action. Oooookay. This just shows a couple of things: 1). Brownback belongs to the still-locally-powerful-but-increasingly-an-embarrassment-nationally wing of the GOP who haven't gotten the memo that being anti-gay is now a political loser. Not that long ago, it was a political winner nearly everywhere to be seen as anti-gay, but that's no longer the case nationally even if it is still the case in some locales, and the GOP is in an increasingly tough position - they don't want to be seen as the "anti-gay party" any more, because too many straight people have gay friends and family members they respect (or they were just never bigoted to begin with). Crap like this makes it hard for the GOP to make the case that they're not. 2). If SCOTUS, as expected by most tea leaf readers, ushers in marriage equality nationwide this June, there's still work to do. A non-loopholed version of ENDA, for instance.
Originally Posted By ecdc But remember, both parties are the same and who we elect doesn't really matter or have real-world consequences.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHJbSvidohg">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...bSvidohg</a>
Originally Posted By dshyates Kansas has always been more extreme than their more liberal neighbor, Oklahomophobia.
