Profile in courage:
Midway City Council, June 1, 2015
One of the neat things about my job is every week I do deep dives into our archives and those of 19th Century papers like the Woodford Pennant, Bluegrass Clipper and the Woodford Weekly – either in our offices or at the History Room in the Woodford County Public Library. These glimpses at our unvarnished past, which we would be fools to try and erase, are evidence of how we have grown into a more civil, equitable and generous community. Or, expose chronic flaws that compel us to tend to in the present.
Let me share one of these, which we, as Woodford Countians, should lift up as an example of our “better angels” and even try to replicate today.
June is “Pride Month.” This month is dedicated to a celebration of LGBTQ pride, commemorating the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer culture, history and community. The Sun formally joined the party last year by deciding to place a “pride” logo atop our front page, and publishing stories and opinion pieces about the LGBTQ community in Woodford County through June.
In one of my columns, I suggested someone or some entity or some governmental body organize a Pride March for June 28, the date designated as the International LGBTQ Pride Day. So far, no takers. Maybe the current political climate, coming from both major parties at the state and federal levels, seeking to demonize at worst or ignore at best the LGBTQ community explains this.
Perhaps our local, state and federal elected or business leaders can use the example of Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift and the Midway City Council back in 2015 when it enacted Kentucky’s seventh Fairness Ordinance.
The Midway City Council, with Vandegrift’s strong support and leadership, adopted the ordinance by a 4-2 vote on June 1, 2015.
Former Sun editor John McGary, who covered the months-long debate, described the ordinance in the Sun’s June 4 edition, “(The new ordinance) adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of classes protected from discrimination in housing, employment and public ‘accommodations’ (like restaurants, hotels, and businesses).” The ordinance carved out exceptions for religious organizations and businesses with less than 5 employees, and McGary quoted Councilmember Bruce Southworth who said, “I think it’s the right thing to do . . . I get all the outside influence on this and it’s really about Midway.”
What Southworth was talking about was a concerted effort ginned up by Frank Simon, director of the Louisville-based American Family Association chapter, to defeat the ordinance. He was joined by Richard Nelson, director of the Commonwealth Policy Center, who threw the weight of his organization against the ordinance. This included hosting a “Religious Freedom Meeting” on May 4 at the Woodford County Middle School, which was attended by about 150. As reported, speakers deployed typical anti-gay rhetoric, said fairness ordinances were an existential threat to American Christianity and used audience questions to cite Bible passages and reiterate their message.
In his story on the meeting, McGary interviewed two self-professed Christians who were required to stand outside of the meeting holding signs that read “GOD gave us a spirit of LOVE, POWER, and SOUND MIND, not FEAR” while wearing t-shirts saying “Love Thy Neighbor.” Lesley Gilpin told McGary, “I’m here to show Jesus wants us to love God and love our neighbor, including those whom we might disagree with, and that this meeting, and the way it was advertised in some churches, was to strike fear.”
The Sun published several letters to the editor from both sides, including a guest column from Nelson.
To allow regular Midwegians to voice their views before the vote, the council sponsored a public forum to hold “public comment” on the ordinance, which was held on May 7 at Northside Elementary. The attendees numbered about 90, including all council members and Vandegrift. Again, as reported by the Sun, the substantial majority of speakers were in favor of the ordinance and the dissenter’s opposition was the supposed threat it posed to religious freedom.
So, in the face of organized, well-funded opposition, six regular Midway citizens serving on the City Council to represent their community and do what was best, as they could see it, for their community, enacted the ordinance. It has been on the books since. Despite predictions, it was never challenged in court. And, it is there to say there is no place for discrimination in Midway of any sort.
This is what I call courage . . . it is the type of action not always typical of elected officials. In 2015, four council members voted in a way that very well could have resulted in defeat in the next election. That, too, did not happen.
And, as we know from many examples, courage can be contagious. Though it took over four years, both the Versailles City Council and the Woodford County Fiscal Court passed similar Fairness Ordinances – both, like Midway, doing so on less than unanimous votes.
Thank you to Vandegrift and the members of the 2015 council who voted “yes”: Kaye Nita Gallagher, Dan Roller, Sara Hicks and Bruce Southworth.
As we celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month let’s remember and look for ways we can build on this example of making sure all of us in Woodford County enjoy the full liberty and freedom this country promises.