Kansas Goosesteps Backwards

Just this week, Kansas Governor, and apparent goose-stepping Neanderthal, Sam Brownback revoked an executive that have been in place for eight years which gave LGBT state employees protection from being discriminated against because of their LGBT-ness.

That’s right, after eight years of equality for state employees, Governor Asshat, er, Brownback, took it all away, and in doing so, is basically saying, “Let the discrimination games begin.” But, to be clear, the homophobic, anti-LGBT governor, did issue a new order that, according to him, “reaffirms the commitment of the State of Kansas to employment practices which do not discriminate based on race, color, gender, religion, national origin, ancestry or age.”

But not sexual orientation or gender identity, never sexual orientation or gender identity.

Brownback’s press secretary, Eileen Hawley, said that when former Kansas governor, and Democrat, of course, Kathleen Sebelius signed the original order in 2007, she “unilaterally” established two additional classes of protected citizens — state employees and all others — and that Brownback’s New Kansas Order means state employees will only have the same protections that all other Kansas residents have.

See, to the average worker in Kansas who falls into the LGBT category, you can be fired simply for being LGBT, so Brownback decided to just make it plain that anyone who is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, in any job, anywhere in Kansas, state-employed and otherwise, can be fired for being gay.

Well, Governor, if you felt there was an inequality there, that sate workers were a more ‘protected’ group, then why not advocate for LGBT protections statewide in all fields of employment? Oh yeah, ‘cuz those folks are gay, and cuz you’re a Republican, and, well, that means bigot.

Marty Rouse, national field director for the Human Rights Campaign [HRC} is naturally disgusted by Brownback’s order:

“This is a dramatic reversal for Kansas. For eight years, LGBT state employees have been guaranteed nondiscrimination protections and in one foul, reckless and shameful decision, Governor Brownback has taken the state backward. His deplorable behavior is a direct assault on fairness and equality in the state.”

On the upside, kind of, within a couple of hours of Brownback turning back the clock on workplace discrimination of the LGBT community, Kansas Representative John Carmichael, a Democrat, of course, asked to introduce a bill in the House Judiciary Committee that would put employment protection for LGBT state workers into statute.

He was countered by Kansas Representative, and, naturally, a Republican, Jan Pauls, who opposes extending that protection because she doesn’t think rescinding the employment protection order puts LGBT state workers at risk. She says she’d be surprised that any LGBT person gets fired with the protections now gone.

Well, Jan, you delusional tool then remove employment discrimination laws protections for everyone because it isn’t a matter of if an LGBT state worker gets fired for that reason, it’s the fact that they can be fired, without cause, just for being LGBT.

And, lest anyone not get this queer: Republicans hate The Gays. If you read these stories of anti-LGBT rulings, whether on marriage equality, adoption rights, employment protections, the side that is always against the LGBT community is Republican.

Get that queer, y’all. And remember that just because we are winning the fight for marriage equality doesn’t mean we are winning; in places like Kansas we are once again being pushed to the back of the bus, and perhaps getting fired for it, too.

via Lawrence Journal-World