Four Kentucky advocacy groups launched a video calling on the Kentucky Farm Bureau to "stop the hate" ahead of their annual Ham Breakfast at the Kentucky State Fair. The 30-second video features Congressman John Yarmuth, State Representative Attica Scott, and advocates from sponsoring organizations, the ACLU of Kentucky, JCTA (Jefferson County Teachers Association), LSURJ (Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice), and the Fairness Campaign. Activists will protest outside the Kentucky Farm Bureau's annual Ham Breakfast at the State Fair Thursday, August 22 at 7 a.m.
Each year, Kentucky Farm Bureau Insurance customers are automatically charged a fee that enrolls them as compulsory members of the company's 501(c)4 lobbying arm, which spent nearly $100,000 last year lobbying the Kentucky General Assembly on policies outlined in their printed policy book, which elected officials receive but policyholders do not.
The policy book includes positions that are anti-LGBTQ, anti-teacher, anti-union, anti-choice, anti-POC, pro-death penalty, and more, They recently added a policy targeting transgender students in Kentucky schools. Anyone can download a full copy of the 2019 Kentucky Farm Bureau Policies book at Fairness.org/KFB.
In 2015, three protesters were arrested for standing in silent protest of the policies at the Kentucky Farm Bureau Ham Breakfast. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled 2-1 against activists' First Amendment and False Arrest claims against the Kentucky State Police in Hartman et al. v Thompson et al.
KY Farm Bureau Stop The Hate Video: Fairness.org/KFB
WHAT: KFB Ham Breakfast Protest
WHEN: Thursday, August 22 at 7:00 a.m. ET
WHO: Fairness Campaign
American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky (ACLU-KY)
Jefferson County Teachers Association (JCTA)
Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice (LSURJ)
Freda Fairness, a Squallis Puppeteers collaboration
Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation 2019 Discriminatory Policies & Page Numbers:
- The institution of marriage should only be recognized as the legal union of a man and a woman. (p.13)
- We are opposed to any state-supported agency providing benefits to “domestic” partners. (p.14)
- We strongly believe in the value of all individuals both born and unborn. (p.14)
- We strongly oppose teacher strikes. We oppose legislation that mandates collective bargaining for public school employees. (p.64)
- We oppose schools declaring themselves gender neutral. (p.65)
- Alternative lifestyles should not be taught in public schools. (p.65)
- We support the enactment of right-to-work legislation. (p.80)
- We oppose an increase in the minimum hourly wage. (p.80)
- We recommend the federal prevailing wage law be repealed when dealing with government contracts. (p.80)
- We strongly oppose any mandate that would require any government entities to recognize and collectively bargain with employee unions. (p.80)
- Furthermore, we oppose public employees being permitted to strike, organize work stoppage or slow-downs. (p.80)
- We oppose unionization of farmers and farm laborers. (p.80)
- We support the idea that those who receive SSI, food stamps, housing, or other government welfare payments should have to submit to random drug testing. (p.81)
- We support capital punishment. (p.94)
- We oppose any government mandate that forces school districts to provide transgender bathrooms. (p.97)
