In upcoming legislative session, civil rights and civil liberties once again under attack
The New Year brings a new session of the Kentucky General Assembly. While there will be a handful of new faces between the two chambers due to special elections, the political makeup of the General Assembly remains the same as it was during the 2019 session. Lawmakers are set to gavel in on Jan. 7 for a 60-day session. You can already get a sense of what is on the agenda by reviewing the legislation that has already been pre-filed. It is clear that, once again, civil rights and liberties will be under attack.
Kentucky’s immigrant communities are already facing multiple legislative attacks. The rhetoric around these bills is largely parroted from the inflammatory and racist national political discourse on immigration. At its core, Kentucky’s anti-immigrant legislation is aimed at requiring law enforcement from across the Commonwealth to assist in the deportation of black and brown Kentuckians. These bills are family separation bills, plain and horrifyingly simple.
Supporters of reproductive rights will once again be on the defensive as a new slate of anti-abortion measures are taken up. They include an attempt to add political language about abortion to Kentucky’s Constitution. There’s also a misguided effort to “prohibit the payment of public agency funds to any [emphasis added] entity that performs, induces, refers for, or counsels in favor of abortions.” What does it mean to “favor” abortion? Who will determine that?
Transgender Kentucky students are the targets of a renewed attempt to restrict and regulate their access to restrooms and locker rooms at their schools. The bill is being brought back after failing in past years. If passed, it would allow students to sue their school if it allows transgender peers to use school bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. If this piece of legislation isn’t outrageous enough, another legislator declared in a public Facebook post that she will file legislation that would make it illegal for parents to seek trans-related medical care for their children that are under the age of 18.
The full list is too long to include in detail here but also includes a proposal to collect DNA at the time of felony arrest for inclusion in a database, turning the presumption of innocence on its head. One legislator wants to silence Kentucky voices that want to protest pipelines, filing a bill that would make free speech in this context a felony. And, while not pre-filed, Kentucky’s new Secretary of State has declared mandatory, state-issued voter ID and a purge of the Commonwealth’s voter rolls are among his top priorities he looks forward to the legislature taking up.
It is a mind-boggling list of attempts to roll-back rights and outright attack some of Kentucky’s most vulnerable populations. If you, members of your community, people you love, work with or care about, will be impacted by any of these measures, you must reach out to your representatives in Frankfort now. Once these measures are before legislative committees, the outcome is almost always already certain. You can always reach your legislator via the Legislative Message Line at 1-800-372-7181.
While there is much to fight against before the session even begins, there will certainly be much to fight for as well. Here at the ACLU, we are focused on promoting common-sense justice reforms, accessing accurate data on our juvenile justice system, addressing racial disparities in healthcare for pregnant people, a permanent fix to Kentucky’s draconian voter disenfranchisement laws, and making sure the religious freedom of all Kentuckians is respected and protected.
Amber Duke is the ACLU of Kentucky’s Communication Director.