This year’s Celebrate & Support a Fair Kentucky event focuses on rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Denise Brogan-Kator, State Policy Director for the Family Equality Council, will be the guest speaker.
She speaks with Tracy Ross on Sounds Good about several recent “religious liberty” bills, the South’s status as a potential bellwether region for LGBT rights and her own journey as a transgender person.
Brogan-Kator, who has served in the U.S. Submarine Force along with several LGBT rights organizations, says one of her main concerns is what she describes as backlash from the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last month that effectively made gay marriage legal nationwide.
North Carolina recently signed into law a bill that would prohibit cities and counties from passing their own ordinances regarding social rights, something Brogan-Kator says specifically denies Charlotte’s attempt to extend LGBT protections.
At the same time, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said he’d veto HB 757, a “religious liberty” bill that would exempt officials from performing marriage ceremonies if it violated their beliefs. The measure received criticism from gay rights groups along with a handful of business leaders that threatened to leave the state if it passed.
Brogan-Kator says she supports Deal’s decision, and that legislation like this remains a top priority for the Family Equality Council. The advocate also claims Deal’s veto reflects the majority opinion in Georgia, not just the LGBT demographic.
Kentucky and the South in general also have a significant number of LGBT people. Brogan-Kator says 30 percent of those families live in the lower part of the United States, while providing what she believes is the least social protection. She says there are no statewide laws that protect against job discrimination or discrimination in public accommodations.
Still, Brogan-Kator purports LGBT rights have come a long way, though there’s still plenty of work to be done. She recalls the original AIDS epidemic of the 80s, and the stigma associated with the gay and lesbian community. When she first came out as trans in 1993, she was immediately fired from her job.
Now, she says LGBT issues have become well-known nationwide, and advocacy groups have learned lessons on how to raise public consciousness and spread the message that LGBT people are just like the rest of society.
Brogan-Kator will speak at the event Saturday, April 2. For more information, contact Murray State University Coordinator of LGBT Programming Jody Cofer-Randall at jcofer.murraystate.edu.
