Board of Directors Report

Jody Cofer, Chair

“For All” we say, and it makes me wonder what do YOU do that advances Fairness for everyone across our community? As you can tell, this edition of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance (KFA) E-News is focused on the legislative session currently in progress. We are hopeful that the 2007 General Assembly is representative of the hundreds of thousands of fair-minded Kentuckians that have expressed their support of our community. 

On February 22nd, the KFA is co-sponsoring Kentuckians Value Fairness day at the Capitol, along with Louisville’s Fairness Campaign. This event will provide you an opportunity to network with others from across the Commonwealth, meet with your legislators, and, yes, at 1:00 p.m. (central) we will rally for statewide Fairness in the Capitol Rotunda. 

Our strategy for success must be built on a number of things including public education and hard community work, but it also includes what we have termed ‘legislative adjustments.’ We will never achieve equality without the support of our General Assembly.

The best way for us to talk with our legislators about how they can help move Kentucky toward fairness is for you, all of you, to share the struggles and barriers we face as we carry out our daily lives. This will allow them to see the real, personal side of us.

These discussions may focus on individual stories of fear over losing a job because of sexual orientation or about a mother that is scared that her child might be bullied at school and with no statewide law to protect against such bullying.

Last session, the people’s house passed an anti-bullying bill, but it was silenced in the senate chamber. We must work with our legislators to prevent such from happening again. Each of our conversations will be different, but there will be underlying themes and one that I know legislators like to discuss is the fact that no matter what our shortfalls may be, we as a state are becoming smarter, faster, and more competitive each year. 

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community plays an important role in that progress. On behalf of the straight ally working in Bowling Green, the gay activist in northern Kentucky, and everyone else, I say “And I’m telling you… I’m staying… and you’re ‘gonna’ love ‘us!’