The Favors of Citizenship

The Favors of Citizenship

It's not about religion.

It is about a citizens right to be considered equal to any other citizen and to enjoy the benefits thereof.

It is about the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States in which it is declared that all men are created equal.

It is about the 14^th amendment to the Constitution in which it is stated that anyone who is born within the United States or Naturalized as a citizen is guaranteed equal treatment under the Constitution and entitled to due process of the law.

It is about the 19^th amendment which extended the right to vote to women.

It is about the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin,

It is about the right of ALL citizens to be treated equally under the law.

It is NOT about some people being excluded.

The Chill Out and Proud event scheduled for Saturday, October 5^th downtown at the Judicial Center Plaza is being held to validate those precious rights and to demonstrate that, as citizens, the participants are no different than you or me.

There are some who disagree with this but if legal standards are applied it is obvious that the rights of some may not be infringed upon without due process of law.

Recently the City of Somerset refused to pass what was referred to as a “fairness ordinance” reaffirming those natural rights of citizens. It created quite a hubbub centered mainly on religious doctrine without addressing the legal application of the law. Just recently Versailles became the 14^th city in Kentucky to pass a “Fairness Ordinance.” Some say that we are all already guaranteed protection under those laws and therefore no ordinance is required. That may be true but just as it took the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to affirm the rights enumerated under the 14^th Amendment it would be useful and beneficial to have a city and county ordinance to demonstrate determination to enforce those rights. It's just not that hard to understand.

Conflicts arise from the enforcement of civil rights. In this instance it may be the 1^st Amendment which guarantees freedom of religion along with the freedom to gather in public places for peaceful purposes. There may be objections to a “Fairness Ordinance” or the Chill Out and Proud event based on religious principles. Those objections are protected free speech and those that choose that route are guaranteed a right to assemble to speak against whatever they choose as long as it is peaceful and does not incite violence. This guarantees an individual a right to speak but it does not guarantee a right to have it codified into law nor does it give government the right to ignore the law.

My Take is that this is an opportunity for Somerset-Pulaski County to engage with the LBGTQ community in an effort to defuse tensions and, perhaps, come to an awareness that there is no threat here. I am pretty sure that many, if not all, of the people gathered will be citizens of the United States of America and privileged to enjoy all the favors thereof. Let's have a nice day.