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To my pleasant surprise, the anti-gay-rights measure on the ballot in Topeka failed (12,795 for, 14,285 against, no link because the only place I could find that had the news up this early is registration-only).
Background: Topeka City Council passed a resolution last year prohibiting city offices from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation. As this is America, land of the free and home of the 'phobe, there was an immediate backlash from all sorts of places, including the Usual Suspect, Fred Phelps. An initiative got on the ballot that, if passed, would have banned city government from passing any resolutions protecting gays for the next ten years.
Of course, the Phelpschers made no similar promise to shut up for ten years if the measure failed, so I expect to see some variation of this initiative on the ballot every election for the next few years.
A lot of the opposition came from black groups who trotted out the tired old "we fought for these protections, they're ours, screw the gays" sort of arguments mixed with a bit of fear that the civil rights protections might be rolled back entirely rather than risk letting gays be protected. Whee.
Next on the plate for the April elections (I think, need to look this up) is Kansas's statewide "gays can't get married" amendment. Which will probably get passed in a landslide, but that won't stop me from going out to vote against it.
Background: Topeka City Council passed a resolution last year prohibiting city offices from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation. As this is America, land of the free and home of the 'phobe, there was an immediate backlash from all sorts of places, including the Usual Suspect, Fred Phelps. An initiative got on the ballot that, if passed, would have banned city government from passing any resolutions protecting gays for the next ten years.
Of course, the Phelpschers made no similar promise to shut up for ten years if the measure failed, so I expect to see some variation of this initiative on the ballot every election for the next few years.
A lot of the opposition came from black groups who trotted out the tired old "we fought for these protections, they're ours, screw the gays" sort of arguments mixed with a bit of fear that the civil rights protections might be rolled back entirely rather than risk letting gays be protected. Whee.
Next on the plate for the April elections (I think, need to look this up) is Kansas's statewide "gays can't get married" amendment. Which will probably get passed in a landslide, but that won't stop me from going out to vote against it.
