‘I’m human. We’re human’: Crowd rallies at Kentucky Capitol to protest anti-LGBTQ bills
June Wagner should have been in school Wednesday, but the 17-year-old junior had more pressing matters to tend to in Frankfort.
“My rights are being threatened,” Wagner said. “I would honestly hate myself if I didn’t skip school and come here and fight for something that I may actually lose.”
A transgender, non-binary teen from Danville, Wagner was one of more than a dozen speakers for the 2023 Fairness Rally at the Kentucky State Capitol, hosted by the Fairness Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group. Supporters packed the rotunda to oppose what the Fairness Campaign is calling the “Slate of Hate” — three Senate bills and six House bills the group says are harmful to queer and trans people — especially to trans youth.
One bill in particular — GOP Sen. Max Wise’s Senate Bill 150, which would allow teachers to choose whether or not to use a student’s preferred pronouns, while also adding provisions about school communications with parents — shows early signs of passing in the Republican-dominated legislature. It’s already racked up 10 co-sponsors in the Senate and cleared the education committee, though it will again go to committee Thursday for some changes.
Wagner, who called all these bills “disgusting,” had a simple message to lawmakers: “I’m human. We’re human. Why would you want to do this to another human being, when we’re literally just kids trying to be ourselves?
“We’re just like you.”
Introduced as the “most pro-equality governor in Kentucky history,” by Fairness Campaign Executive Director Chris Hartman, Gov. Andy Beshear promised to keep fighting for LGBTQ rights as long as he’s governor. Beshear, a Democrat, is up for re-election this year.
“We are sitting at a time of great promise in Kentucky, but Kentucky cannot reach its full potential unless all people feel free to be themselves,” Beshear said. “Discrimination against our LGBTQ+ community is unacceptable, it holds us back and it simply isn’t right.”
Like Beshear, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman slammed the legislature for these bills.
“Shame on any adult that would use our kids as pawns in their political game,” she said.
The crowd showed extra support for Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, whose 24-year-old son, Henry Berg-Brousseau, died by suicide late last year. Berg-Brousseau was a trans man and activist.
“We love you, Karen!” some attendees shouted as Berg, wearing a shirt emblazoned with the word “PRIDE,” stepped up to speak.
The shirt, she said, was a reminder.
“I want each and every one of us in this room to remember that we keep our heads high. We keep our shoulders back. We walk through this world with pride. We do not let their hate and their ignorance bring us down,” Berg said.
Rep. Keturah Herron, a Louisville Democrat and the first openly LGBTQ person in the Kentucky House of Representatives, promised to follow the lead of Kentucky’s queer youth.
“I am here to follow your lead. I am here to stand in the gap for you. I am here to serve you,” Herron said. “I am here to (make sure) that you feel seen, that you feel heard and that you feel cared for in the same space that is attempting to erase you.”
This story was originally published February 16, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
