Updated: Anti-gay marriage bill wins Kan. House’s approval
Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gay-rights advocates are lashing out at the Kansas House’s leading Democrat, saying he showed only tepid opposition to a bill protecting people who, based on their religious beliefs, discriminate against gays and lesbians.
Minority Leader Paul Davis, a Lawrence Democrat who’s also running for governor, voted against the measure, which the House passed 72-49 on Wednesday, sending it to the state Senate.
The bill would prohibit government sanctions or anti-discrimination lawsuits against individuals, groups and businesses over faith-based refusals to recognize marriages, civil unions or domestic partnerships or to provide goods, services, accommodations or employment benefits to couples.
Supporters argue the bill would protect the rights of Kansans to adhere to their religious beliefs even if federal courts strike down the state constitution’s ban on same-sex unions. They contend the measure is akin to protections for churches, religious groups and others in states where lawmakers have legalized gay marriage.
Read more: http://www.salon.com/2014/02/13/anti_gay_marriage_bill_wins_kan_houses_approval/
Kansas’ Anti-Gay Segregation Bill Is an Abomination
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024493945
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UPDATE:
Kan. Senate president: Bill that allows service refusal to same-sex couples on religious grounds unlikely to pass
By Bryan Lowry
Eagle Topeka bureau
TOPEKA — A controversial bill that supporters say would protect religious freedom and critics say would sanction discrimination against same-sex couples is unlikely to pass the Senate in its current form, Senate President Susan Wagle said Thursday.
House Bill 2453 passed the House 72-49 on Wednesday.
Since then, phones at the Capitol have been ringing from callers urging senators to stop the bill and lambasting representatives for passing it.
“After an initial review, I’ve grown concerned about the practical impact of the bill,” Wagle, R-Wichita, said in an e-mailed statement.
The bill was taken up in response to federal court rulings that overturned same-sex marriage bans in Utah and Oklahoma, would allow public and private employees to refuse service based on religious views of marriage.
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2014/02/13/3287827/susan-wagle-bill-that-allows-service.html#storylink=cpy
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