In a better world, there would be a statewide law that protects the rights of all people to share an innocent kiss in a park and generally do the things that people living in a free country can do.

That would make things clear for everyone: businesses, landlords, even park employees.

People going about their lives, too, would not need to stop and figure what their rights are on a city by city basis.

But efforts to extend civil rights protections in Kentucky to include sexual orientation and gender identity have not succeeded.

So, Kentucky is left with a patchwork.

That's why a lesbian couple kissing in a park would be protected under the law in Lexington, Louisville and Covington but had no recourse last week in Richmond when they were kicked out of the park.

And that's why Richmond should move quickly to pass a fairness ordinance and extend basic rights to gay, lesbian and transgendered people.

Eastern Kentucky University, by far the largest employer in the community, prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, so this is not a new idea to thousands who live, work and study in Richmond.

Indeed, virtually every major employer in this area and in Kentucky has a similar policy, including Toyota, Lexmark, Brown-Forman, Yum Brands and Ashland, Inc.

Kentucky made a name for itself as progressive in 1966 when it became the first state below the Mason-Dixon Line to outlaw discrimination based on familial status, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age or disability.

Although the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, which is responsible for enforcing those protections, has urged that they be extended to include sexual orientation, the General Assembly has not complied.

And so, this fight continues city to city throughout Kentucky, including most recently in Richmond.

Large, national and multi-national employers understand something that public officials appear to have trouble grasping: In this world, it takes all hands to thrive.