Protesters urge Lexington council to push back on KY anti-LGBTQ bills: ‘Drag is not a crime’
A group of health care professionals, parents and LGTBQ rights activists asked the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council Thursday to pass resolutions condemning a series of bills currently before the Republican-controlled Kentucky General Assembly.
“Drag is good. Drag is not a crime,” said Uma Jewels, a drag performer who has raised more than $100,000 for local charities as part of the Imperial Court of Kentucky. “We ask for your affirmation. We ask that you affirm our right to exist.”
More than two dozen people spoke during Thursday’s council meeting condemning a push by the Republican-controlled legislature to make gender-affirming care for minors illegal and other bills regulating where drag shows can be performed, among other bills.
Rebecca Blankenship is the first openly transgender person to be elected to a local office in Kentucky. Blankenship has been vocal about the various bills pending before the Kentucky General Assembly that attack LGBTQ rights.
Blankenship, who now lives in Berea, came out in Lexington more than a decade ago. Lexington, which passed the first Fairness Ordinance in Kentucky in 1999, has long been supportive of the LGBTQ community and became a sanctuary for those from smaller towns who did not feel they could be themselves at home, she said.
She asked the council on Thursday to continue that history.
“We believe every one of these heinous LGBTQ bills can be stopped,” Blankenship said, urging the council to speak with Fayette County legislators to vote against the bills.
Others spoke about the trauma and real harm the bills have already had on the LGBTQ community.
Tom Baker is the father of a transgender child. He fears the pending bills moving through the legislature will result in more suicides of LGBTQ youth.
“Homophobic and trans-phobic parents have all manner of rights,” Baker said. But parents of transgender children have none, he said.
“These laws must be fought against as if lives depend on it. Because they do. Real lives,” he said.
In addition, the group wants the city to make improvements on how it treats lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and queer people.
Among other demands, the group, called Lex Have Pride, wants the city to:
- Condemn bills currently moving through the Kentucky General Assembly
- Affirm that Lexington is a welcoming place for the LGBTQ community
- Confirm transgender health care equality
- Fund beds and programming for LGBTQ homeless youth (some city-sponsored homeless programs have programs targeting LGBTQ youth)
- Expand the minority business program, which encourages the city to contract with minority-owned businesses, to include LGBTQ-owned businesses
- Report on demographic data, including LGBTQ status, on boards and commissions (the city already tracks that data)
Craig Cammack, a spokesperson for the city, said the city will look into the group’s requests.
“We hope our community will feel free and comfortable to express their pride, both for themselves and our city,” Cammack said. “We are proud of our achievements in supporting our LGBTQ community and will continue to provide that support.”
The movement to speak at the Lexington council meeting grew out of a change.org petition launched this weekend that resulted in more than 4,000 individual signers and over 60 Lexington businesses and organizations, according to Lex Have Pride.
Kentucky bills would ban transgender care for minors, limit drag shows
At least 10 bills have been filed in the legislature that deal with transgender health or LGBTQ issues.
Several of the bills have passed either the House or Senate as the General Assembly winds down its 30-day legislative session.
Republican sponsors say the legislation is about parents’ rights and child safety, while opponents like the LGBTQ advocacy group the Fairness Campaign have dubbed these bills the “slate of hate.”
House Bill 470 would ban health care providers from prescribing puberty blockers or perform gender-affirming surgery to those under 18. The bill passed the House 75-22 on March 2.
Senate Bill 150 would, among other things, allow teachers to use pronouns a student was assigned at birth. It passed the Senate 29-6 in February.
Another bill that has rankled many is Senate Bill 115, which would prohibit drag show performances on publicly owned property or where there is an expectation that children could be present. That bill passed a Senate committee in early March. The bill was dramatically altered from when it was originally filed. The original bill would have prohibited drag shows within 1,000 feet of a residence, child-care facility, public parks, schools or places of worship.
In February, Covington city leaders spoke out against SB 115, saying it prohibit its annual Pride Festival and will affect several local businesses that have drag show events.
Limiting those events could stifle tourism and hurt local businesses, Covington officials have said.
“I can’t begin to describe how wrong-headed and ill-advised this legislation is, and how much of an overreach it is,” Covington Mayor Joe Meyer said in February before the bill was altered. “The courts have consistently restricted government’s authority to regulate expression such as this.
