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Headlines
Study: Family behavior key to health of gay youth
By Lisa Leff, Associated Press Writer, December 28, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Young gay people whose parents or guardians responded negatively when they revealed their sexual orientation were more likely to attempt suicide, experience severe depression and use drugs than those whose families accepted the news, according to a new study.
The way in which parents or guardians respond to a youth's sexual orientation profoundly influences the child's mental health as an adult, say researchers at San Francisco State University, whose findings appear in Monday's journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Read the entire story.
Listen on NPR.
December 19, 2008
The decision to have anti-gay clergy person Rev. Rick Warren give the invocation at the Presidential Inauguration sends the wrong message to the American People. We ask you to join with Kentucky Fairness Alliance and sign this petition so that the Obama Administration knows that we want real change.
It's time to stop giving persons who oppose basic civil rights for LGBT American's this nation's highest honors such as the privilege of doing the invocation. Let's make sure that the President-elect knows that we intend to hold him accountable and that we expect him to lead America on its path toward full equality for America's LGBT citizens.
Dec. 23 Update: Opinions
In 2007, hate crimes based on sexual orientation rose 6% despite an overall decline of one percent overall, according to a new FBI report. Hate crimes based on race continue to account for more than half of all reported crimes with sexual orientation the third highest category.
October 27, 2008
Pam Platt's heartfelt column about Matthew Shepard's devastating murder reminded me about just how much work we have ahead of us before we live in the world of justice Platt so beautifully envisioned. Though it's been a decade since the hate crime that claimed Matthew's life, such terrifying incidents continue to happen -- even in Kentucky.
Just this August, Nakhia Williams, an African-American transgender woman was shot outside of her Louisville apartment and left by a dumpster. Like Matthew, Nakhia died a few days later. But unlike Matthew, media have barely touched on this tragedy. Ten years after national attention was drawn to anti-gay hate crimes, it is a travesty that Kentucky remains without hate crimes laws that cover gender identity. A lack of education and understanding around transgender people makes them especially vulnerable targets. Failing to protect transgender people such as Nakhia under existing laws sends a message that such violence is more acceptable than violence towards others.
We must honor Matthew and Nakhia's legacies by passing inclusive hate crimes laws in Kentucky, and by teaching the values of understanding and non-violence towards all.
CHRISTINA GILGOR, Executive Director, KFA
October 22, 2008
Church sees union of 1 man, 1 woman
By Peter Smith
psmith@courier-journal.com
Even as the number of states allowing same-sex marriage has grown to three, Louisville Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz has begun leading a new Catholic effort to encourage laws that define marriage as between one man and one woman.
Kurtz is leading an ad hoc task force appointed recently by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which also will work with the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternity.
Kurtz said the group has only had one teleconference so far and hasn't developed all of its plans, but early goals include distributing a video and Internet materials on the Catholic teaching on marriage.
Those include a 2003 statement by Catholic bishops that followed Massachusetts' court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, the first in the nation.
"We are really trying to be persuasive as possible about what we have strong convictions about," Kurtz said.
He said the church is "very clear on supporting the dignity of every human being," but doesn't agree with arguments that marriage is a civic right due to any two people regardless of gender.
He said the church "continues to believe the traditional definition of marriage" as supporting "the intimate union of a man and woman (as the) building block of a family."
He said the goal is not to promote a "particular church belief, like the real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, but rather as a conviction about the common good and what is the common good in society."
Kurtz already leads a subcommittee seeking ways to promote and strengthen existing marriages, which he said is part of the bishops' wider marriage agenda.
Kurtz said he doesn't anticipate doing a lot of traveling on behalf of the new initiative, but hopes it will provide resources for bishops and other Catholic representatives in states where the issue is being debated.
Plans for the new ad hoc task force began in June after California's top court joined Massachusetts in legalizing same-sex marriage. Connecticut's top court issued a similar ruling earlier this month.
Twenty-seven states have constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage. Some of them, including Kentucky, also forbid civil unions or other marriage-like legal arrangements.
Efforts to pass a similar federal constitutional amendment have failed.
Christina Gilgor, executive director of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance, which advocates gay rights, called the bishops' effort a "fantastic waste of effort and resources."
She questioned whether an unhappily married couple would become happily married because the bishops are working to "defend marriage."
"They will merrily proceed because their effort is not so much about defending marriage as it is about keeping gay people in what they think of as our place. Gay Americans are as deserving as straight Americans to be treated with dignity and our relationships with respect."
Reporter Peter Smith can be reached at (502) 582-4469.
A Challenge
September 19, 2008
The last two weeks have been tough for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Kentuckians. The murder of an African American transgender woman in Louisville was practically ignored by the media, a group of white males perceived to be gay were harassed in a McDonald’s restaurant, and an appellate court delivered a ruling prohibiting second parent adoption for unmarried couples. Notice, that pretty well covers all of us in the “LGBT” community.
Discrimination against gay Kentuckians crosses lines of sex, race and class - good reason for us to move beyond those issues ourselves.
In the three years I have led this organization, the leading organization advocating for statewide legislation for gay Kentuckians, I have watched and listened as individuals in our community offer every reason under the sun for why they can’t be part of a unified effort. They’re not political. They’re busy with their lives. They don’t like me. They don’t like a KFA Board member. They don’t like that we work with this or that group on a particular project. KFA uses the wrong model. Not everybody knows they’re gay.
All fair enough. But then don’t expect anything to change. Until we can get past ourselves and our differences and look at the big picture, gay Kentuckians will remain second-class citizens.
For those who are not happy with the status quo, who might legitimately use some or all of the reasons above for not getting involved but who know that those things are not static - as being gay is, what can we do?
We can propose legislation to include transgender Kentuckians in our Hate Crimes law. We can propose legislation to give legal recourse to gay individuals who are harassed. We can propose legislation to allow all parents to adopt their children.
But then there’s getting that legislation passed, which is a whole different ballgame. Why? Because it takes more than one person or a handful of people to make it happen. It takes gay people talking to their friends, family, neighbors, employers, employees and legislators about their lives – and insisting on the civil rights and dignity afforded all Kentucky citizens.
If any one thing stands out in my mind about the experience of the last three years, it is the astounding lack of confidence we have in ourselves as a community. Too often we are content to let someone else take responsibility in Frankfort. Change requires investment and tenacity, not relinquishment. One of my favorite organizational tag lines is from the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which claims “the audacity to fight, the perseverance to win.”
The day I realized and internalized the fact that there were 417,000+ Kentucky voters willing to say NO to discrimination in 2004, I knew we could change our future. The operative word is we. Each of us is (hopefully) one of those 417,000 voters (and if you’re not, you can stand in for one!). Even a small percentage of those voters could create significant change in Frankfort in a very short period of time. This is not wishful thinking. It is doable.
Borrowing from a famous politician, I’m asking you to believe in KFA, yes. But mostly I’m asking you to believe in yourselves. KFA is nothing is it is not all of us.
Go team!!
Christina Gilgor, Executive Director
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The Ampersand symbolizes the solidarity we are building through Friends & Family, and suggests the inclusiveness we are working toward. It reflects the idea that no one individual, legislator, organization, or city can carry all the water for equality. Our success lies in our solidarity. 
