Business journal
criticizes Kentucky governor for nixing gay protections

A prominent business journal in Kentucky has come out against Republican governor Ernie Fletcher's recent elimination of antidiscrimination workplace protections for gays and lesbians. In an editorial that appeared in Friday's edition, Tom Martin, editor in chief of Business Lexington, lambasted Fletcher's action, saying that the governor has "undermined" the ability of Lexington, Louisville, and other Kentucky cities to attract new business, ranging from industry conventions to companies thinking about relocating. "Governor Fletcher may or may not be pandering to the most extreme social and religious conservatives among his voter base. That's a political matter," Martin wrote. "Our concern is for the well-being of our business community. And in any case, either way, this policy sends Kentucky stumbling backward, even as the nation and the world have moved on." He added: "With the stroke of a pen, Governor Fletcher has undermined the efforts of our urban centers, which have local antidiscrimination statutes shielding gays and lesbians, to present themselves to prospective new businesses and residents as progressive and fair-minded." Lexington's 1999 Fairness Ordinance included sexual orientation and gender identity as a protected class in the city's policy against discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations. Other areas of the state have similar protections. In the editorial, Martin pointed out that after Cincinnati, Ohio, passed an antigay charter amendment in 1994, the city lost $46 million or more in convention business, as several firms that had considered having their conventions there decided to go elsewhere. "Under the watch of Gov. Ernie Fletcher, the state of Kentucky now harms corporate recruiting," he wrote. (The Advocate)