From The Kansas City Star:
Another amendment, offered by Rep. Kevin Engler, a Farmington Republican, would have added sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s discrimination law.
In Missouri, a person can be fired from their job, evicted from their apartment or kicked out of a restaurant for being gay or being perceived as gay. Bills changing that have been introduced in the Missouri legislature for 19 years without getting much traction.
“You can fire somebody for just cause if you find out they’re gay,” Engler said. “I think that’s sick. We should be disgusted we have that policy in this state.”
Rep. Greg Razer, a Kansas City Democrat and one of only three openly gay state legislators, said state law punishes people for who they are.
“I was born gay. I’m gay today,” he said. “And it’s just a part of who I am.”
But Rep. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican, said extending discrimination protections to LGBT Missourians could infringe on religious liberty.
“When you look at the tenets of religion, of the Bible, of the Qu’ran, of other religions,” he said, “there is a distinction between homosexuality and just being a human being.”
No comments:
Post a Comment