LOCAL UPDATES

Bluegrass

Bluegrass Chapter has had a busy summer so far, with big events in both June and July, and we have even more plans for August. The annual Gay Pride Picnic at Windy Knoll was a wonderful time, as always. This year we were able to recruit dozens of citizen co-sponsors for the statewide Fairness bill and sold lots of Unbridled Pride t-shirts and wristbands. We also collaborated with the Fairness Campaign of Louisville and the Rainbow Bowling League on our 8th annual Pride Bowl-a-Thon, which raised money for KFA and the Fairness Campaign.

The weekend of July 4 brought even more opportunities for us to raise our visibility. We had informational tables for the July 1 Diversity Day and the Fourth of July street fairs in Lexington, and we also put a float together for the Fourth of July parade.

Our deepest thanks go out to all the volunteers who helped us staff the tables and build the float!

This month we're looking forward to participating in the Kentucky Votes Fairness Action Saturday for Lexington. We'll walk door-to-door in Kentucky's 12th Senate district, identifying pro-fairness voters and building our political power ahead of November's elections. This will be the first in a series of Action Saturdays and Sundays that will put us face-to-face with our fair-minded neighbors.

Also in August, Bluegrass KFA will host an informational table at the Woodland Arts Fair. Keep your eyes on your e-mail for signup information.

Visit the Bluegrass KFA Website and read our local newsletter!

Gray Dove (Madison County)

The Gray Dove Chapter has been very busy planning its upcoming House Party at Jerry Thomas's home in Richmond. The event will begin at 8pm and will include dessert and drinks. The menu includes decadent desserts and a myriad of specialty drinks all provided by Jerry Thomas, Kendra Stewart and members of the Gray Dove Chapter.

The purpose of the House Party is to raise funds necessary to continue the vitals steps to ensure a Fairness Ordinance in Madison County. Numerous meetings have taken place with the current members of the City Council who seem supportive of legal protections for gays and lesbians. Following the fall City Council election, a new round of meetings will take place to gauge the attitudes of any new board members. 

A more formal protection in the form of a Fairness Ordinance is needed to ensure that LGBTIQ individuals will not be discriminated against in jobs, housing, and public accommodations.

No more should we have to see friends move away from Madison County or seek jobs in larger cities to escape the discrimination that goes unpunished or unnoticed every day. So join us on August 4th at 8pm at Jerry Thomas's for a nice time and a revolution. 

Limited invitations are available, for more information or directions, contact Jerry.

Visit the Gray Dove Chapter's Website.

Northern Kentucky

The Northern Kentucky Fairness Alliance collaborated with KFA, Equality Ohio, Equality Cincinnati, and the Human Rights Campaign of Greater Cincinnati to raise the visibility of our fight for equality at Cincinnati's Pride Alive Festival and parade on June 10-11. We recruited about 100 new citizen co-sponsors of the statewide fairness bill over the two-day event.

We’re now looking forward to walking door-to-door many times, and in large groups, on Action Saturdays in Campbell County. Part of KFA's Kentucky Votes Fairness campaign, we'll build support for Fairness in the 68th House District, currently represented by one of Kentucky's most notorious anti-fairness legislators. 

Our first walk in the Ft. Thomas/Highland Heights area will be Saturday, August 12, with more walks scheduled in September and October. Sign up for our first Action Saturday through the KFA website.

We’re also looking forward having a Fairness booth at Covington's Oktoberfest September 8-9-10 in the city's Mainstrasse Village. For more information about how to volunteer for any of these events, contact KFA Community Organizer Wes Wright.

Louisville Fairness Campaign

Celebrating our 15th Anniversary during Pride season gave the Fairness Campaign a wonderful opportunity to mobilize members and reach out to the GLBT community of greater Louisville. We built a fabulous float for the annual parade, and recruited lots of volunteers to march with us and to staff our booth at the Pride Festival. We worked the crowd distributing postcards that will be delivered to lawmakers in Frankfort, supporting the passage of a statewide law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

Also in June , the Fairness Campaign was proud to announce our receipt of a $1 million bequest from the late Henry Wallace. The generous gift will be used to fund an endowment that will secure the work of building equality in Jerfferson County.

Looking forward, the Fairness Campaign is excited to collaborate with the Kentucky Fairness Alliance during the State Fair, August 17-27. Phone banks to recruit staff for our informational table started this week!

E-mail the Fairness Campaign office and volunteer to make phone calls, or visit the Kentucky Fairness Alliance website to sign up for a shift at the booth.

Visit the Fairness Campaign's Website.