Kansas upholds laws against gays making them criminals

[RKP5637]

(One can always count on Kansas for persecution. You are not welcome in Kansas. Take your money, advanced education, skills and capabilities to make the state better, providing jobs, and go someplace else, that's the message from the state legislature. OK, fine!)

http://www.kansan.com/news/2011/mar/15/free-some-kansas-lawmakers-still-oppose-legality-h/

"Earthquakes, nuclear reactors, Libya, Wisconsin, taxes, job crisis, food crisis, women’s health, what other big potentially catastrophic news items are there that I’m missing?

There’s enough heavy news going on right now to make your head spin. Americans are being attacked from all sides and getting continually disappointed by no one in power doing anything to help anyone. But this trend of public officials intent on wasting time, being shamelessly ideological and willfully ignorant doesn’t stop at the federal government.

Lest you think that state-level politicians are doing anything different, such as working on real problems and addressing the needs of their constituents, but it’s not the case.

Recently, Kansas got the opportunity to finally repeal its law criminalizing homosexual conduct in a cleanup bill. This law is now unconstitutional, according to the Kansas Equality Coalition, as per the Lawrence v. Texas Supreme Court case, which nullified all state laws criminalizing sexual activity between people of the same sex in 2003."

(But no, not Kansas, given the opportunity to progress, let's go backward.)

http://www.kansan.com/news/2011/mar/15/free-some-kansas-lawmakers-still-oppose-legality-h/

[NoBlueDogs]

1. Passengers, America's Pride Airlines has landed in Wichita.

Please set your clocks back by 300 years.

[RKP5637]

2. And gov. Brownback wonders why people are leaving Kansas, why some counties

have a 10% decline in population, why some are moving to states with higher unemployment than Kansas... Why some that just finished their degrees are moving out of state.

In one article I read one writer had basically said, perhaps he should look a little deeper than just unemployment as to why people might choose to leave Kansas. Just the headlines from Kansas have not been very impressive over the years with regard to civil rights and freedom of choice. It just moves from one item to the next showing a desire to keep Kansas as backward as possible. This was just one more example.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

3. Holy crap. About 50% of the commenters there are total psychopaths. -nt

[RKP5637]

4. Oppression of rights is well and alive in Kansas, one can count on that for sure, and

combined with that one can easily gather up those that love to oppress others and manage/dictate the most personal details of ones life. How can anyone interpret other of the events than seem to repeatedly go on in Kansas.

[hobbit709]

5. Kansas, the land that time forgot.

[AsahinaKimi]

13. been to Kansas recently?

:hide:
I'm Kidding!!!!^^

[RKP5637]

16. Love it, I live under rock #3! LOL n/t

[liberal N proud]

6. Somewhere over the rainbow

Kaunas is no longer on the other side of that rainbow.

[RKP5637]

8. And there ain't no pot of gold for most. n/t

[Buzz Clik]

7. Gratefully, the law is archaic and unenforceable.

[RKP5637]

9. Here is some background on gov. Brownback. None of this is really surprising given

it's Kansas. Also, in one article it was discussed the intent was to keep it on the books so if the federal law were overturned, then Kansas would already have this persecutory law on the books. Gov. Brownback also, I believe, was the senator that introduced and drove for the defense of marriage amendment to the US constitution when Bush was president. Just the fact it was left on the books tells one a lot about Kansas.

Here is more on Brownback. It's clear he is about as anti-gay as one can get.

http://lesbianlife.about.com/od/lesbianactivism/p/Brownback.htm

[Buzz Clik]

10. I'm very familiar with Brownbeck. He graduated from KSU just prior to my arrival.

He was the darling of the politically elite in Kansas even then. He was being dragged to various committees for exposure including some research committees at the universities. I never imagined he was destined to be the political and moral leader of the most backward state in the union. "One step forward? Five steps back!"

[RKP5637]

11. The fact that the people of Kansas elected him senator and now

governor tells me something about how people think in Kansas and why it continues to be backward. Perhaps Johnson Country will do well, but I can't imagine many that are advancing on in the world and want interesting progressive careers that Kansas would be much of a calling card.

[Life Long Liberal]

22. Also anti-evolution.

[MuseRider]

12. We fought this and won in committee but a DEMOCRAT

stuck it back in aside one of the most vile, bigoted Republicans in the House (and that is saying a lot because the House is full of total whackos). It was the Democratic Congresswoman Jan Pauls who made the motion and put it back, he joined her. Her job is going to be hard to keep.

Do not stay away from Kansas. This is stupid. We have made huge progress here. It is being dismantled and will not look good for GLBT, women or anyone suspected of being "illegal" but we will get it changed back.

[RKP5637]

18. Thanks!!!

:)

[gratuitous]

14. So, does Kansas exempt gay people from paying taxes?

Or do the Republicans there believe in taxation without representation?

[RKP5637]

15. There should be a tax break for putting up with the bullshit. n/t

[Life Long Liberal]

17. I have lived near Wichita my whole life and am used to this stuff. Horrible I think.

[RKP5637]

19. It does get oppressive, and then when things might calm down the Phelps clan starts up. No wonder

Kansas gets such a bad reputation, some of it's unfair, but some of it is deserved and justified. It's really hard to wrap ones head around some of the stuff that goes on. Other pastures start to look greener, especially when the legislature basically tells people they are second class citizens under the eyes of the law.

[Life Long Liberal]

20. I will agree much is justified. Many things I dislike about this state.

[RKP5637]

21. This was the thing that crossed the line for me. I've started looking to leave. It's when

you start adding it all up the oppression is getting ridiculous. They try to dictate how to lead ones life. It's like every few months there's another WTF and much of the rest of the country laughing at Kansas and all the jokes about Kansas. And they are deserved IMO.

[Taverner]

23. Back in the 80's, didn't the state congress try to pass a law making it illegal to hire homosexuals?

I remember that idea being tossed around then...

[RKP5637]

24. I wouldn't be surprised. IMO it's an oppressive place hearing what goes on, and with the new

governor Brownback, who knows what's going to happen next in Kansas. He has a RW christian agenda and unless one fits that rigid mold I think it could be problematic to many walks of life. He's from "C" Street. And he pals around with the most RW of the RW orgs.

I think this recent move was just the tip of the iceberg. He also apparently wants to cut corporate taxes eventually to 3.5% and eventually eliminate income tax. Where in the F is the money going to come from to run the state other than tax the hell out of property owners is beyond me. Already the sales tax is high.

I don't know, each day is another WTF IMO.