This Op-Ed was originally published in the February 15th edition of the Courier-Journal.
In January of 1966, with Governor Edward T. Breathitt’s signing of a law Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called “the strongest and most comprehensive civil rights bill passed by a Southern state,” the Commonwealth of Kentucky became the first state in the South to adopt a Civil Rights Act with enforceable repercussions for acts of discrimination. Two years later, Kentucky was again first in the South, this time in the passage of a statewide fair housing law, which cemented our commonwealth’s legacy as the nation’s Southern civil rights leader.
At its core, the purpose of the Civil Rights Act is to ensure equality for everyone. It ensures all Kentuckians have the same opportunities to earn a living, be safe in their communities, serve their country, and care for the ones they love. When there has been a history of a particular groups’ lack of access to these fundamentals of the American dream, the just and appropriate response has been to add that particular group to existing antidiscrimination laws.
Today our state has the opportunity to once again stand as the pioneer of fairness and equality among its Southern peers, and we challenge each and every Kentuckian to add their voice to the call for comprehensive civil rights legislation in the commonwealth.
On January 5, Louisville Representative Mary Lou Marzian and three other Kentucky legislators (Reps. Flood, Jenkins and Palumbo) filed House Bill 117—a statewide Fairness law—that seeks to amend our state’s Civil Rights Act to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as protected classifications, prohibiting discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Kentuckians in employment, housing, and public accommodations. Even today, any person suspected of being gay or transgender outside Lexington, Louisville, or Covington may be legally fired from their job, denied housing, or withheld access to any public accommodation—such as a bus ride or service in a restaurant.
The Tides Foundation’s
State Equality Fund, a philanthropic partnership that includes the Evelyn and
Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, the Gill Foundation, and anonymous donors, has awarded
the Kentucky Statewide Fairness Coalition $30,000 to promote lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality. The Fund is programmatically staffed
on behalf of the donors by the Gill Foundation’s Movement Building Center.
The
Fairness Coalition is an alliance of the various organizations and individuals
working for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights in Kentucky.Our primary goal is to win a statewide
ordinance that extends protections based on sexual orientation and gender
identity within the Kentucky Civil Rights statute.We recognize that to accomplish this long-term goal we will
need to build a statewide base of support with incremental victories on the
local level.By joining forces, we
enhance the capacity of the individual organizations with a sharing of
resources, strategies, and goals, increased communication, and a strengthened
and expanded base of allies of LGBT equality.
Founding members of the
Fairness Coalition include the ACLU of Kentucky, Fairness Campaign, Kentucky
Commission on Human Rights, Kentucky Fairness Alliance, and Lexington Fairness.
By Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, Reproductive Freedom Project
This morning, the Kentucky Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of Cochran v. Commonwealth, a case that could have enormous consequences for healthy moms and babies in that state.
Ms. Cochran's road to Kentucky's Supreme Court has been a long one. Almost four years ago, Ms. Cochran gave birth to a baby girl. Her daughter allegedly tested positive for cocaine, and for that alone, Ms. Cochran was charged with felony child abuse. However, before her case could go to trial, the court dismissed the prosecution. The court was right: Ms. Cochran never should have been charged. In 1993, in Commonwealth v. Welch (the ACLU represented Ms. Welch in that case), the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that Kentucky's criminal laws could not be used to punish women who become and choose to remain pregnant despite a substance abuse problem.
You might think that the court's dismissal of her case would have been the end of Ms. Cochran's ordeal; unfortunately it was not. The state appealed, arguing that in later cases the Kentucky Supreme Court had actually reversed itself, even though it could point to no explicit language where the court had done so. Surprisingly, the appeals court agreed (though not one of the three judges on that court agreed for the same reason). With the law now totally in flux, the state Supreme Court accepted the case to settle the issue — again — of whether becoming and remaining pregnant is ever a crime in the state of Kentucky.
The ACLU filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Ms. Cochran, not only because we believe Welch is still good law, but, more fundamentally, because using criminal laws to punish pregnant women who are struggling with addiction makes for bad law and even worse public policy. If a pregnant woman can be charged with a crime for potentially harming her fetus, then literally everything she does or does not do — including choosing to continue her pregnancy to term despite an underlying health condition — could land her in jail. What if a pregnant woman has a glass of wine with dinner now and then, or lives with a smoker; what if she drives over the speed limit, fails to get regular pre-natal care, or works in a coal mine, as many women in Kentucky do?
Allowing the government to exercise such unlimited control over women's bodies, and every aspect of their lives, would essentially reduce pregnant women to second-class citizens, denying them the basic constitutional rights enjoyed by the rest of us.
Moreover, from a public health perspective, these prosecutions are simply counterproductive. Fifty-nine organizations and experts, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Kentucky Psychiatric Medical Association, joined friend-of-the-court briefs in this case, explaining that punitive approaches to improving fetal health just don't work. Seems obvious, right? By forcing doctors to turn in their own patients, these prosecutions only drive women away from the health care and treatment they need. If the state of Kentucky was truly interested in supporting healthy moms and babies, these groups point out, it would not be violating its own laws to throw the pregnant women who need health care the most in jail.
We are hopeful that the Kentucky Supreme Court will agree and uphold nearly two decades of sound law and policy in the state of Kentucky. Indeed, the court's decision will have ramifications beyond Ms. Cochran's case. At least two other women have been charged with similar "crimes" since Ms. Cochran's arrest. Our efforts should be focused on ensuring that pregnant women with underlying health conditions can get the care they need. Hopefully, this case will set us squarely on that path.
Well I had quite a day yesterday. I left my house at 4:30 for the first of two flight that would lead to Washington DC for the Stop Stupak rally and my meeting with Congressman Chandler’s staff. When I arrived at the Dirksen Senate Building it was teeming with activists from across the country. We all came with the single purpose of not allowing Congress to continue to use women’s bodies as their personal political playground.
The rally and day was incredibly powerful. To give you an idea of the energy and activism that went on consider, more than 1,000 supporters traveled to DC to lobby their members of Congress. They had to set up an overflow room for more than 200 people that couldn’t fit inside the Dirksen Auditorium for the rally. Over 100 lobby visits were scheduled. 30 states were represented. 17 campuses from 11 states were represented. Buses came from as far away as Maine and Wisconsin. 45 clergy from 13 states attended and 14 members of Congress came and spoke at the rally.
Needless to say it was an amazing experience. Unfortunately, my meeting with Chandler’s staff was not as energizing. I wanted to know (and continue to want to know) how a supposedly pro-choice member of Congress could vote for the Stupak amendment? It is Chandler’s understanding that Stupak merely keeps the status quo of the Hyde amendment. We know that isn’t the case. Stupak goes far beyond the status quo. For more information about that meeting click here .
I spent the rest of they day talking to activists from across the country. Thankfully many of them had more success than I had. After that, I caught two very delayed flights I came home to an inbox full of encouragement and support. Needless to say it was quite a day, but our fight isn’t over.
Please send a letter to your Congressmember and tell them to Stop Stupak .
Lastly, make sure Congressman Chandler knows Kentucky wants to Stop Stupak. Call his Lexington office (859) 219-1366 and tell them simply, “You cannot be pro-choice and support the Stupak-Pitts amendment”. And. “Stupak is not the status quo”!
Over 600 Kentuckians from across the Commonwealth came out to hear the stories of three individuals directly affected by the death penalty during the Journey of Hope tour in early November. Terri Steinberg, Shujaa Graham and Bill Pelke toured 7 Kentucky colleges in three days to gain support for abolishing the death penalty in Kentucky.
Katie McCracken, Georgetown’s Campus Ministry Intern, expressed her appreciation of hearing the different perspectives of the speakers, “When trying to change minds you need to come at it from multiple directions,” and the various points of view allowed listeners to do just that. Cherie Dawson-Edwards, an ACLU board member and one of the organizers of the KY State Journey of Hope stated that following the event “Students and faculty came up to me throughout the day with stories of how the speakers moved them.” WKU student Sheri Pearson said, “What stood out most for me were my children’s reactions.” Sheri’s ten-year old son Grant Denbaugh told her that he had never really thought about why he was against the death penalty until he met Mr. Graham, who was exonerated from death row after being framed for the 1973 murder of a prison guard in Stockton, CA.
Journey of Hope attendees were overwhelmingly moved to act. Over 350 individuals filled out postcards to legislators asking them to support abolition of the death penalty. WKU student Greg Capillo urged fellow students to also call their legislators. Other attendees signed up to attend the annual conference of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, coming to Louisville in January.
The success of the Journey of Hope tour is another indication that Kentuckians are ready for abolition as indicated by extensive recent media coverage in the Courier-Journal, Bowling Green Daily News, and the State Journal, among others. Kentucky is on the tipping point of abolishing the death penalty - following in the steps of New Jersey and New Mexico, both of which did away with capital punishment within the last two years.
Kentuckians can end the barbaric and ineffective practice of executions, but we need your help! Please consider attending the NCADP conference from January 14-17 at the Seelbach Hilton in downtown Louisville where you will have an opportunity to hear experienced speakers cover ways to diversify the movement and lead discussions on innovative responses to crime, violence and criminal justice.
Register for the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty’s annual conference Early registration rates end November 23! If you can’t make the entire conference, please consider attending the awards dinner where we will be recognizing longtime ACLU Board Member and abolitionist Carl Wedekind.
