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Kentucky Fairness Alliance Rejects Williams Apology on Behalf of Roeding
July 18, 2006
Frankfort --- Senate President David Williams (R-Burkesville) released a statement today saying Sen. Richard Roeding (R-Lakeside Park) had apologized for referring to the Log Cabin Republicans as a "bunch of queers."
According to the statement, Roeding told Williams during a telephone conversation, "if I offended anyone, I apologize."
The Kentucky Fairness Alliance rejects Williams' attempt to apologize on his colleague's behalf. "At minimum, we expect Sen. Roeding to deliver an authentic, sincere, and direct apology to his constituents and to all fair-minded Kentuckians," said KFA Executive Director Christina Gilgor.
"Roeding is a senior Senator and former Senate President Pro Tem who should have known better. He needs to personally and publicly acknowledge that his remarks were offensive; even the Family Foundation of Kentucky agrees that his comments were over the top. He has insulted all fair-minded Kentuckians and must be responsible and accountable. His unwillingness to express remorse just reinforces the fact that he should step down."
In Friday's Louisville Courier-Journal, Roeding called the University of Louisville's decision to offer domestic partner benefits to its faculty and staff "repulsive," adding, "I don't want to entice any of those people into our state. Those are the wrong kind of people."
He further insulted Kentucky's Log Cabin Republicans, a group that advocates for gay and lesbian rights, calling them a "bunch of queers" in Saturday's Kentucky Post.
Williams himself has an abysmal track record on fairness issues. He used a similarly offensive slur in 2004 when he referred to then U.S. Senate candidate Dan Mongiardo of Hazard as "limp-wristed." He further angered fair-minded Kentuckians by defending a $11 million dollar allocation to the University of the Cumberlands, a Baptist-affiliated school that expelled a gay student in April 2006.
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.
