Berea, KY Fairness Ordinance On Hold

A recently conducted survey commissioned by the Fairness Coalition determined that 83% of registered Kentucky voters agree that gay and transgender people should be protected from discrimination in the workplace, in housing, and in restaurants or other forms of public accommodations. 

The work continues on getting a statewide Fairness law ensconsed that would amend Kentucky’s Civil Rights Act to include protections based on perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.    The Statewide Fairness bill this session was sponsored by my old state rep Mary Lou Marzian (D-Louisville) with a companion Senate bill sponsored by Senator Kathy Stein (D-Lexington) in the GOP controlled chamber.   For the first time ever the bill actually got out of committee and to the floor of the Democratic controlled Kentucky House for debate..

The work also continues as various cities in the commonwealth of Kentucky try to join Louisville, Lexington and Covington on the list of Kentucky municipalities that have Fairness non-discrimination laws on their books and Berea is one of those municipalities making moves toward doing so.

Yesterday there was a Berea city council meeting to try to advance the process and Berea City Councilman Truman Fields, who is spearheading the efforts there was absent from last evening's regular scheduled meeting of the Council.

No further action was taken on either the establishment of a Berea Human Rights Commission or an anti-discrimination Fairness ordinance for the city. For the past several months Councilman Fields has spearheaded the Berea City Council task force tackling these issues, and brought forth a bill at the July 19 meeting that would establish a local Human Rights Commission. While the proposed Human Rights Commission does not include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes, the bill includes provisions for the enforcement of additional protected classes as adopted by the Berea City Council. At the July 19 meeting, the Human Rights Commission bill received the first of two readings required for a vote.

Councilman Fields announced at that July meeting that a draft Berean Fairness ordinance prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations based on perceived sexual orientation and gender identity would be presented at the second Council meeting this month, August 16.

"Though no action was taken tonight, we remain confident the Berea City Council will move forward with the establishment of a Human Rights Commission and propose a local Fairness ordinance as announced later this month," said Jason Howard of Bereans for Fairness. "We commend the City Council and its task force for their careful consideration in the drafting of these bills and their facilitation of a full public dialogue on the issues. We look forward to further positive movement towards Fairness in Berea."


I hope there will be better news to report from the Bluegrass state on August 16.