Frankfort Becomes Fifth Ky. City With Antidiscrimination Ordinance

Kentucky's state capital just became the fifth city in the state to adopt an LGBT-inclusive antidiscrimination ordinance, as the Frankfort Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 to enact a "fairness" law.

After almost an hour of sometimes tense public testimony, Frankfort mayor Bill May and commissioners Tommy Haynes and Katie Flynn Hedden casting their votes in favor of the comprehensive antidiscrimination bill this morning, reports the pro-LGBT Fairness Coalition.

The law prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations based on someone's actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. The ordinance is based on a similar law passed in Vicco, Ky., in January, making that town the country's smallest to outlaw anti-LGBT discrimination. Covington, Lexington, and Louisville have also passed antidiscrimination protections for LGBT people.

The Fairness Coalition notes that a quarter of Kentucky's residents now live in a jurisdiction where people cannot be fired or denied services based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. A statewide antidiscrimination bill has been repeatedly introduced in the state legislature for the past 15 years, without ever reaching the floor for a debate, despite 83% public support for such a law, according to the coalition.

Activists are organizing to enact similar antidiscrimination laws in Bowling Green, Elizabethtown, Morehead, Shelbyville, and Berea, according to the coalition.