Kansas Representative Introduces Anti-Discrimination Bill

Rep. Louis Ruiz, D-Kansas City, has introduced a bill in the Kansas House banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, the Wichita Eagle reports:

Rep. Louis Ruiz, D-Kansas City, introduced the bill a month after the Kansas House passed a bill that critics said would have legalized discrimination against gay and lesbian couples.

“What’s our message when we have these type of discriminatory bills that come out at either the federal or the state level? We’re defeating our own purpose as a country that wants to be inclusive. To me, this is a no-brainer,” said Ruiz, who is the ranking minority member on the Federal and State Affairs Committee, which initially passed HB 2453. He was one of its fiercest critics.

His bill, which does not have a number yet, would extend the same legal protections that prohibit discrimination based on religion, gender and race to sexual orientation and gender identity. This would make it illegal for a company to refuse to hire or serve someone for being gay or transgender, just as it is illegal to refuse to hire or serve someone based on skin color.

Kansas has a law protecting LGBT people in state employment but that's as far as it goes.

Ruiz "expects the bill to receive strong opposition, but hopes it will get assigned to the Federal and State Affairs Committee."