Kentucky Fairness Alliance

The Kentucky Fairness Alliance (KFA) is an American gay rights organization formed in 1993 and based in Kentucky. The organization provides public education and advocacy on issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals and families in Kentucky.

KFA serves regionally with local chapters in Richmond, Owensboro, and Elizabethtown. It is affiliated with the separate Louisville-based Fairness Campaign, another gay rights organization whose founding predates KFA and whose focus is on the Louisville area.

History

Because of its role as an advocate for GLBT Kentuckians, the history of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance mirrors the legal and legislative issues affecting gay rights in Kentucky since the early 1990s. In 1993 a group of GLBT Kentuckians primarily from Louisville formed the Kentucky Fairness Alliance Education Fund with the expressed purpose of educating the public on GLBT issues. Many of the founding women and men in the group were active in Louisville's Fairness Campaign. The group's formation was in part a response to attempts in the Kentucky General Assembly to recriminalize consensual sodomy after the Kentucky Supreme Court overturned a statute making consensual oral or anal sex between members of the same sex illegal while allowing these sex acts between members of the opposite sex.

The group was active in the passage in 1999 of local ordinances to ban discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations due to a person's sexual orientation in Louisville, Lexington-Fayette County, Jefferson County, and Henderson. These ordinances were dubbed in the "Fairness ordinances" by local city leaders and media. The Henderson ordinance was repealed the following year. The City of Covington passed a Fairness ordinance in 2003.

Criticisms

2004 Marriage Amendment

A coalition of state and national organizations were unsucessful in their opposition of the 2004 anti-marriage amendment Kentucky Constitution that bans same-sex marriage and civil unions for same-sex couples.

Loss of Bluegrass Chapter Steering Committee members

In May 2007, the Steering Committee members of the Lexington Chapter of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance (Bluegrass Fairness), broke form the state organization and started an independent organization that now operates under the name Lexington Fairness. Although the Lexington steering committee members broke from the state organization, the Bluegrass Chapter of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance remained intact and is forming new leadership.

Loss of Northern Kentucky Chapter Steering Committee members

On June 01, 2008, all members of the Steering Committee for the Northern Kentucky Fairness Alliance resigned. The group now operates as a task force under the name Equality Northern Kentucky.

Condemned by Kentucky Equality Federation

On January 09, 2008 Kentucky Equality Federation’s [http://commonwealth-equality.org/membership/bod_committee/index.htm#General_Advisory_Council General Advisory Council] condemned Kentucky Fairness Alliance [Herald Leader Frankfort Bureau (09 January 2008) [http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/story/280720.html One state gay rights group breaks ties with another; leadership of Fairness Alliance blamed ] "Lexington Herald-Leader". Accessed 11 January 2008.] [queerty.com (09 January 2008) [http://www.queerty.com/drama-destroys-activist-coalition-in-ky-20080109 Drama destroys activist coalition in Kentucky; No Alliance for Federation] "Queerty". Accessed 11 January 2008.] . The condemnation was short lived; on April 18, 2008 Kentucky Equality Federation's Board of Directors rescinded the General Advisory Council's condemnation of Kentucky Fairness Alliance and terminated 9 of the 14 members on the General Advisory Council.

According to published reports, one reason for the dispute between the two organizations was related to Bluegrass Fairness of Central Kentucky [commonwealth-equality.org (10 January 2008) [http://kyequality.org/media/KEF_management_comments/Council_Comments_KFA.htm Kentucky Equality Federation's General Advisory Council comments on Fairness Alliance] "Kentucky Equality Federation Media". Accessed 11 January 2008.] , once a chapter of Kentucky Fairness Alliance. Kentucky Equality Federation’s General Advisory Council also sited problems in working with Christina Gilgor, Executive Director of Kentucky Fairness Alliance. Gilgor responded by saying "In a community so broad, complete agreement on every issue all the time is near impossible." [kentuckyfairness.org (11 January 2008) [http://kentuckyfairness.org/getinformed/newsroom/press/2008/080109.htm Diversity, Not Division] "Kentucky Fairness Alliance". Accessed 11 January 2008.]

Other regular activities

Federal, state and local media sometimes turn to Kentucky Fairness Alliance for responses to news events involving GLBT people.

Annual Gay & Lesbian Film Series

Kentucky Fairness Alliance held the 1st Annual Gay & Lesbian Film Series Kickoff Gala on May 30, 2008 in Louisville. The Human Rights Campaign, and Kentucky Equality Federation where among the many sponsors [kentuckyfairness.org (10 June 2008) [http://kentuckyfairness.org/getinvolved/events/lglfsgala.htm 1st Annual Gay & Lesbian Film Series] "Kentucky Fairness Alliance". Accessed 10 June 2008.] of the event supporting Kentucky Fairness Alliance.

References

External links

* [http://www.KentuckyFairness.org KFA website]
* [http://kfaboardchair.blogspot.com A Leading Light Blog]
* [http://www.lexfair.org Lexington Fairness]