EQUALITY
Kansas GOP Lawmakers Introduce Bill To Define Same-Sex Marriage As A ‘Parody Marriage’
Kansas state representatives introduced legislation on Wednesday that would label same-sex marriage as “parody marriage” and would prohibit the state from recognizing same-sex marriages or transgender people, reports the Wichita Eagle.
The legislation would also allow controversial gay “conversion therapy” which seeks to change a gay person’s sexual orientation.
Another bill seeks to establish an “elevated marriage” for straight couples and make divorce more difficult in some cases. That bill also describes same-sex marriages as parody marriages according to the newspaper.
One of the bills states that same-sex marriages “erode community standards of decency.” It argues that civil rights for gay people are different than civil rights for black people because it claims that there are “no ex-blacks but there are thousands of ex-gays.”
The measures would also prohibit public schools and libraries from hosting or endorsing “drag queen storytime.”
The Wichita Eagle notes that the legislation has very little chance of becoming law because the state’s Democratic governor is supportive of gay marriage and is likely to veto the bill if it passes the state legislature.
The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Randy Garber (R), admitted that the language in the legislation is “kind of harsh.”
“Their marriage probably doesn’t affect me — their union or whatever you want to call it,” he said. “But in my opinion, they’re trying to force their beliefs on society.”
A state LGBT rights group condemned the legislation.
“We have never seen this level of extremist vitriol laid out in legislative language,” Equality Kansas tweeted. “These marriage bills combined are 18 pages of insults and name calling.”
We have never seen this level of extremist vitriol laid out in legislative language. These marriage bills combined are 18 pages of insults and name calling. Fred Phelps would be proud. The sponsors of these bills should be ashamed of themselves. #ksleg pic.twitter.com/2UN0iREBxX
— Equality Kansas (@KansasEquality) February 14, 2019
