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Kansas has "outed" itself once again.
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By Mike Cuenca | April 22, 2005
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I'm shocked by how many people say that as a result of the gay marriage
amendment vote they are shocked to find that Kansas is an intolerant,
bigot-populated state.
Kansas is a state that chose to support the
separation of black and white children in schools, fighting all the way
to the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the state's right to discriminate.
Just this past year, this state successfully fought all the way to the
U.S. Supreme Court for the right of Kansas University to discriminate
and retaliate.
Kansas has allowed Fred Phelps to become a national
symbol of intolerance and religion-based hatred. If you naively believe
that Kansas has no choice but to protect Phelps' freedom of speech,
contrast that with local federal courts' decisions (and the
government's and people's acceptance of those decisions) that civil
rights victims and activists can be silenced and persecuted because
they've offended good white folks by accusing them of discriminatory
acts and bigotry.
Even though he offends people all over the world, our
court systems and our government have consistently protected Phelps'
right to speak his mind freely with the state's protection. At the same
time, Kansas has not only declined to protect the same rights for
minorities who stand up for their rights and the rights of others but
has actively sought to limit minorities' rights.
Kansas hasn't changed,
it's been "outed" again. Kansans have rightly earned the bigot label
for their state and it didn't start with the gay marriage amendment.
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Originally published by the Lawrence Journal-World.
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