A bill that would protect Kentuckians from discrimination based on sexual orientation is unlikely to be voted on this year, according to the bill’s sponsor.
The statewide fairness law was given a public presentation in a crowded House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, but Rep. Mary Lou Marzian says it didn’t have enough votes on the committee to pass. “As long as people feel like they’re taking a political hit to vote for fairness, it’s going to be difficult.”
Marzian has sponsored the bill for years and the legislation was given a committee hearing in 2014, but it’s never received an official vote. Despite Democrats’ national platform, support for LGBT issues can be hard to come by in the party’s Frankfort ranks.
In advance of the 2015 Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage, over half of statehouse Democrats signed a brief advising the Court to uphold state bans on same-sex marriage.
According to a Bluegrass Poll from 2015, 57 percent of Kentuckians opposed legalizing same-sex marriage.
Eight Kentucky cities have enacted local fairness laws, including Louisville, Lexington, Covington, Morehead, Frankfort, Danville, Midway and the small Appalachian town of Vicco.
