LEX HAVE PRIDE
Political leaders nation-wide and in Kentucky have launched legislative and cultural attacks on the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and broader queer community. These attacks aim to revoke parental rights, and individual freedoms, and they place young lives at risk of depression and suicide.
These attacks shred conventional norms of civility, freedom, and community building. They target the already marginalized, with devastating consequences.
As residents and citizens of Lexington, we know the importance of fighting back. We demand a multi-layer of government response to protect the LGBTQ community in Lexington. Lexington’s leaders must demonstrate leadership to fill the gap where others would otherwise fill with toxicity and cruelty. They must actively seek meaningful improvements in public services and protections to ensure the marginalized are protected
We demand the following specific policy improvements, and expect our elected officials to follow through.
LFUCG
PUBLICLY CONDEM ANTI-LGBTQ LEGISLATION, AND STAND UP FOR TRANS KIDS
Affirm that the LGBTQ lives have value, and denounce the current attacks on them. Demand that legislative leaders stop victimizing LGBTQ youth.
DO NOT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST TRANSGENDER INDIVIDUALS IN HEALTH CARE
LFUCG does not treat its transgender employees equally when it fails to specifically include documented commitments to health insurance coverage of medically approved transgender health services. Failure to treat transgender-inclusive healthcare as legitimate healthcare is unacceptable. It is currently a metric tracked by the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index, and Lexington fails to meet this important test of transgender equality.
FUND AND DEVELOP RESPONSES TO LGBTQ YOUTH HOUSING INSECURITY
The LGBTQ youth housing-insecure population remains disproportionately high (28% of queer youth report housing insecurity in their lifetimes), and Lexington must provide additional funding for more beds and more programming to intervene in this specific type of housing insecurity. Require recipients of LFUCG (adult and youth) housing insecurity intervention funds to be trained on transgender and the broader queer community’s particular challenges and cultural competency.
EXPAND MINORITY BUSINESS CRITERIA FOR VENDORS TO INCLUDE LGBTQ-RUN BUSINESSES AND PERMIT PERMANENT RESIDENTS TO BENEFIT
Prioritizing minority owned business is a cornerstone of improving outcome equity, however LGBTQ owned businesses, and businesses not owned by US citizens, are excluded from LFUCG’s guidelines. Additionally, marginalized immigrant nationalities, while ethnically caucasian but decidedly not a part of the majority experience, also may not benefit currently.
AUTOMATIC REPORTING OF DEMOGRAPHIC DATA ACROSS ALL BOARDS & COMMISSIONS FOR MINORITY GROUPS
All Board and Commission applications collect minority status information, including LGBTQ identification, but there is no automatic tabulation of demographic breakdown. Having Boards and Commissions reflect the full diversity of Lexington is critical to ensuring political leaders have access to most complete sets of perspectives. Publicly highlighting this data allows for LFUCG leaders to understand where our blindspots are.
COUNTY & COMMONWEALTH ATTORNEYS
REFUSE TO PROSECUTE BEFORE CAREFULLY REVIEWING THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF ANY ULTIMATE STATUE, AND NOTE TO THE COURT ANY CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES IN ANY PROSECUTION
These laws under consideration in Frankfort are violations of parents’ established rights in raising their children, the children’s right to safe and affirming education, and an individual’s freedom of speech. Utilize your inherent prosecutorial discretion to deprioritize prosecution of these laws over criminal issues that actually harm youth.
FAYETTE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
EXPRESS SUPPORT FOR QUEER STUDENTS, AND COMMIT TO RESPECTING STUDENTS’ PREFERRED NAMES AND PRONOUNS
Students are the targets of these cultural and political attacks, and Lexington’s education leadership must stand to protect them. Further, creating a district wide policy and culture of respecting trans students and staff will have a proven effect in improving students’ academic and social outcomes. FCPS must also support efforts to challenge in the courts any legislation that ultimately may become law.
EXPAND MINORITY BUSINESS CRITERIA FOR APPROVED VENDORS TO INCLUDE LGBTQ-RUN BUSINESSES AND PERMIT PERMANENT RESIDENTS FROM BENEFITING
Prioritizing minority owned business is a cornerstone of improving outcome equity, however LGBTQ owned businesses, and businesses not owned by US citizens, are excluded from FCPS guidelines. Additionally, marginalized immigrant nationalities, while ethnically caucasian but decidedly not a part of the majority experience, also may not benefit currently.
GENDER NEUTRAL BATHROOMS IN NEW BUILDINGS
Facilities are for the safety and comfort of all students and should be standard in new construction. However, no policy should be made to mandate transgender students use the gender neutral spaces, or to limit gender divided facilities based on sex assigned at birth.
LEXINGTON’S STATE LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION
Senator Amanda Bledsoe, Senator Reggie Thomas
Representative Killian Timoney, Representative George Brown, Representative Chad Aull, Representative Lamin Swann, Representative Cherlynn Stevenson, Representative Lindsey Burke
PUBLICLY OPPOSE AND VOTE DOWN ANTI-LGBTQ LEGISLATION
Targeting children and fundamental American freedoms is in no way compatible with support of SB115, HB470, HB53, SB177 and any other legislation that targets the LGBTQ community for exclusion and marginalization.
SUPPORT STATEWIDE FAIRNESS
A Statewide Fairness law without any exception is the only way to protect LGBTQ Kentuckians, and LGBTQ visitors, across the whole state from discrimination without recourse.
EXPAND KENTUCKY’S HATE CRIME STATUTE TO PROTECT SEX, GENDER, AND GENDER IDENTITY
Expanding enumerated classes protected by Kentucky’s Hate Crime Law is essential to ensuring the law keeps up with different permutations of hate.
ACTUALLY FOCUS ON CHILD SAFETY
Kentucky is home to many serious threats to child safety, and none of them are drag performers. Find actual policies and funding to protect children from firearms, preventable diseases, social exclusion, and distressed homes and a rickety foster care system.
LEXINGTON’S FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION
VOTE FOR THE EQUALITY ACT
Nation-wide protection from discrimination in housing, employment, and services must be enshrined federally. LGBTQ rights to exist in society ought not be simply a function of one’s state.
OPPOSE ANTI-LGBTQ JUDGES
Negotiating away LGBTQ rights as part of a broader deal crosses the line of acceptability. LGBTQ rights, the rights of LGBTQ parents and children are not chips to be won or lost. They are inalienable.
COSIGNERS
Organizations and Businesses that Support these Demands.
TAKE ACTION
To achieve our demands, we need to let our leaders know it's important to us. Help us make these goals a reality.
SIGN OUR PETITION
As of 3/8/23, we have over 3000 signatures.
Add yours here.
RALLY AND ATTEND COUNCIL HEARINGS
We are presenting these demands to City Council this Thursday, 3/9. We will rally before and then pack the room during Council Hearings. RSVP here.
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
The email addresses for each official here is linked of this website. Contact your representatives and tell them to lead on equality.
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