Lexington’s Fairness Ordinance will be 20 years old in July. Following the passage of a similar law in Louisville, Lexington city leaders in 1999 voted to ban discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender people when it came to housing, employment, or public accommodations.
Former Lexington council member Debra Hensley’s insurance agency office is on Nicholasville road, regarded as a busy roadway. It was her place of employment 20 years ago when she was busy working to get former Mayor Pam Miller and then Vice Mayor Isabel Yates on board to enact a fairness ordinance. Louisville had just passed a law related to employment only and Hensley said interest in passing a similar law in Lexington was gaining momentum.
During the summer of 1999, the ordinance passed 12 to three and Miller signed it into law July 15th. Hensley believes the law and acceptance generally go hand in hand. “I look in the last 20 years, individuals who have embraced me as a lesbian and as a leader in this community. It’s a lot different than 20 plus years ago. Why? Because they don’t really see things through the lens. They see me as a human being who wants the best for my family and the best for the community. That’s what we have to do,” said Hensley.
Another strong advocate for the fairness ordinance in 1999 was Ernesto Scorsone. The first openly gay member of the state legislature where he served for more two decades, Scorsone is now a Fayette circuit judge. He says the fairness law made a, quote, “very powerful statement.” “It signals to the world that this is a good place to be. That even if you are a little out of sync, a little different or maybe don’t fit the standard kind of profile of folks, you’re not going to be ostracized,” said Scorsone.
Scorsone says the local human rights commission hears about 120 complaints each year and only a handful of those complaints were related to the fairness ordinance. That, he says, demonstrates passage of the law didn’t clog up the court system with complaints.
Former Lexington Mayor Jim Gray was not on council in 1999. He ran unsuccessfully for the top government job in 2002. The businessman did win a council seat as vice mayor in 2006 and then mayor for two terms starting in 2010. Gray believes the fairness ordinance did open a door to political aspirations. “For those of us in the LGBTQ community, someone thinking about public service was more inclined to do that. I was more inclined to do it. I was more inclined to look at it as an opportunity as a real opportunity. Where before that, I’d really looked at as a closed opportunity,” noted Gray.
I spoke to Gray at his now business home, Gray Construction whose office is just a few doors down from city hall where he served as mayor for eight years. There, Craig Cammack serves in the mayor’s office where part of his role is community outreach liaison for LGBTQ relations. Cammack previously served as chair of Lexington’s Fairness Board. “The diversity of how people represent themselves now is so broad that it’s not so easy just to pinpoint Ahhh I know who that person is just by looking at them. And you know, I think that’s great. I don’t think, you shouldn’t be making those judgments just by who you are looking at. You don’t know a person until you know them. And seeing them is not knowing them,” explained Cammack.
Cammack says the fairness ordinance was a step in helping the Lexington community grow economically.
Continuing down Main Street not very far is the Central Library. There the first floor exhibit area currently maps out a historical story of the gay community in Lexington.
Tuesday Meadows is the current chair of the fairness group and helped coordinate the library display. The transgender woman says she was not directly involved in the lobbying effort for the law in 1999. But, Meadows says the public accommodation portion of the law is very important. “For me to be able to use public facilities is extremely important and if I couldn’t use public facilities I couldn’t leave my house and if I couldn’t leave my house I wouldn’t be able to have a full life with my Grandchildren,” said Meadows.
Meadows, who transitioned in 2013, says she’s had very few problems using public facilities.
Serving with Meadows on the fairness board is Stephanie Oghia. She came to Lexington in 2010. Oghia says when she sees people not being treated fairly, she tends to stick up for them. She believes the fairness ordinance has not adversely affected the straight community.
“It hasn’t changed the way most people live their lives. I mean straight people still get up, go to work every day, go get their coffee. Still go to Kroger or wherever they go get their groceries at and go home and cook dinner. That hasn’t changed anything,” said Oghia.
At Lexington’s Pride Center, preparations this week were being made for the annual Pride Festival downtown. In recognition of the 20th fairness ordinance anniversary, a much larger crowd is anticipated. Carmen Wampler-Collins runs the center which offers a variety of services for the LGBTQ community. She says some concerns have come from transgender citizens. “One of the biggest things we see coming in here are trans people looking for help with getting work. You know, finding places that are safe to work, where they will be accepted. Where they will even by hired. So, we still have a lot of work to do,” said Wampler-Collins
Even with the law in place, Wampler-Collins says it still takes an individual coming forward and filing a complaint.
Chairing this weekend’s Pride Festival is Haley Drakeford-Miller. She believes future progress can be made by broader representation in political positions. “I definitely think more LGBTQ folks in office would help, but not even necessarily LGBTQ folks in office as much as just having open minded individuals in office to help support those in the LGBTQ community who need the help and support and the resources,” Drakeford-Miller noted.
Lexington is one of eleven Kentucky cities with a fairness law. Just this week, Henderson adopted a similar ordinance. Former general assembly member Ernesto Scorsone says a state fairness law will someday become a reality. Scorsone believes with more local laws come more interest in adopting a statewide statute.?
Here are extended interviews with participants in this feature.
Pride Festival Chair Haley Drakeford-Miller and Pride Center Director Carmen Wampler-Collins:
Former Lexington City Council Member Debra Hensley:
Former Lexington Mayor Jim Gray:
Craig Cammack works in the mayor's office and is a former chair of the Fairness Board:
Lexington Fairness Chair Tuesday Meadows and Fairness Board Member Stephanie Oghia:
Fayette Circuit Judge Ernesto Scorsone:
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