KANSAS LAWMAKERS AIM TO REVIVE 'LICENSE TO DISCRIMINATE' BILL BECAUSE GAY MARRIAGE IS 'GRAVELY EVIL'

A gay Kansas man who got married on the steps of the courthouse in a public ceremony last month was fired two days later after his boss saw him on the news, according to Thomas Witt, executive director of Equality Kansas.

But Terry Fox, pastor of Wichita's Summit Church, wants to ensure that this type of discrimination remains perfectly legal. Fox is among those pushing Kansas lawmakers to revive a "license to discriminate" bill in the upcoming legislative session.

"As the courts ignore the people's definition of marriage we need more protection to not have to violate our core Christian values," Fox told KWCH-TV.

The bill passed the House earlier this year but died in the Senate after lawmakers were flooded with angry phone calls and emails, The Wichita Eagle reports. Some legislators — like Sen. Steve Fitzgerald, R-Leavenworth (right) — apparently haven't learned their lesson, and now they're emboldened by the arrival of marriage equality in Kansas:

He says the bill is meant to protect religious Kansans from lawsuits. He pointed to a recent case in New York State in which owners of a farm that regularly hosts weddings were fined $13,000 for refusing to let a lesbian couple hold their wedding there. 

“So what you’ve got is we’ll sue you and take everything you can get unless you participate in and help us celebrate what you consider to be gravely evil,” Fitzgerald said. 

In fact, Fitzgerald believes the bill should even extend to public employees, which could lead to police and firefighters refusing to help same-sex couples based on their religious beliefs:

“Should a judge be required to perform a ceremony? A question for you,” Fitzgerald said. “The basic question is regardless of your employment should you be forced, compelled, coerced, made under force of law or threat of suit, to go against your own morals?”

The fact that the bill would have extended to public employees was one of the reasons it was halted by Senate President Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, who said at the time that "public service needs to remain public service for the entire public.”

And even Republicans who supported the bill, including House Speaker Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell, have said they regret the decision and appear reluctant to revisit the topic. 

Unfortunately, that probably won't stop someone like Fitzgerald from reintroducing the measure, and with anti-gay Gov. Sam Brownback at the helm, anything's possible.

Brownback is refusing to recognize same-sex marriages despite a federal judge's decision saying state law violates gay couples' right to equal protection under the 14th Amendment.

As for that ruling, Fitzgerald had this to say: 

“So we’re to believe that the Reconstruction Congress was anxious to spread sodomy throughout the states at the time? That was the intent of the 14th Amendment due process clause?”

CALLERS THREATEN TO BEHEAD KANSAS PASTOR FOR PERFORMING SAME-SEX MARRIAGES

The pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church in Wichita, Kansas, says she's been receiving about one threatening phone call a day since same-sex marriage became legal there last month.

The Rev. Jackie Carter says the calls have ranged from heavy breathing to someone threatening to cut off her head off and carry it through the town square on a stick. 

This past Monday, someone called the church, rang the doorbell and threw rocks at the windows all at the same time, The Wichita Eagle reports:

“Honestly, I’m beginning to get more scared every day that this goes on,” she said. “I’ve kind of talked myself into trying to be more calm about it and realizing that there are more people out there that are supporting us than threatening harm to us.” 

She said the church has instructed people to leave the building in pairs, especially at night, for safety. Carter said that she has reported some of the threats to the Wichita Police Department, but that the department’s ability to investigate is limited because the callers have been anonymous and no number shows up on the church’s caller ID.

Even a leading opponent of same-sex marriage, conservative Wichita pastor Terry Fox, is condemning the threats:

“Anybody who does something like that, there’s nothing Christian about threatening someone bodily damage or something like that. In fact it’s about as unchristian as anything can be,” Fox said. “And it helps no one’s cause. If anything, it hurts that cause. It breaks my heart to hear that anyone would have to endure those kinds of threats from the right or anywhere else.”

Last month, Carter performed a group wedding ceremony for 15 same-sex couples on the steps of the county courthouse. The ceremony was interrupted by a protester chanting "God says no," but the wedding party drowned him out with chants of "God says yes" as he was led away.

"I'm not going to change my message of inclusion, I'm not going to change my message of love, and I'm not going to stop marrying people. I'm going to keep it up," Carter told KSN.com.

Westboro Baptist Church Files Brief to Intervene in Challenge to Kansas Gay Marriage Ban

Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church has filed a brief seeking to intervene in the challenge to the state's gay marriage ban, the Washington Blade reports:

In a 22-page legal brief filed Sunday loaded with references to biblical Scripture and condemnation of homosexuality, the Church seeks to take part in a lawsuit pending before the U.S. District Court for the Kansas, saying same-sex marriage “is utterly contrary to Bible doctrine.” 

“Same-sex marriage will destroy Kansas,” the brief states. “If this Court requires Kansas officials to treat what God has called abominable as something to be respected, revered, and blessed with the seal-of-approval of the government, that will cross a final line with God. The harm that will befall this state, when the condign destructive wrath of God pours out on Kansans is the ultimate harm to the health, welfare and safety of the people.”

[...]

Although the brief doesn’t contain the same anti-gay slurs that have made the church infamous, the filing does envision calamity if same-sex marriage is legalized in Kansas based on the biblical scripture. Stories cited by the church include the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah, ancient cities thought to have incurred God’s wrath for allowing homosexuality, and God’s destruction of civilization worldwide by Noah’s flood.

Don't expect the court to accept the church's request to intervene. A similar, biblically-laced brief by a straight couple last week seeking to intervene on the grounds that gay marriage in Kansas would lead to a theft of their own marriage was tossed out by a federal judge for lack of legal standing in the case.

Straight Couple Seeks To Intervene In Marriage Case Because Gays Literally Want To Steal Their Marriage

Phillip W. Unruh and Sandra L. Unruh today filed a motion to intervene in the ACLU's marriage equality case in Kansas. As laid out in multiple points in their brief, the Unruhs declare that legalization of same-sex marriage would constitute the literal theft of their straight Christian marriage, a property which is guaranteed to belong only to them per the Fifth Amendment. Apparently, once them gays steal a chunk of their marriage, well, it's all downhill for the Uhruhs from there. Next thing you know they'll be cooking meth with hobos under a Kansas overpass. The rest of their brief is similarly cracktastic, complete with quotes from Genesis and the usual "they can't even make ababy" crapola. Hit the link courtesy of Equality Case Files and dig out your favorite bits.

Kansas Governor Brownback rallies against Marriage Equality

Via the Kansas NBC affiliate: 

Governor Sam Brownback spoke out against same-sex marriage at a rally on the east side of Wichita. The Whistle Bus Stop Tour rally this morning brought dozens of speakers out, all of which oppose same-sex marriage in Kansas. The rally was also met by opposition of those who feel Kansas needs to get on-board with many other states in the country and allow same-sex couples the same liberties. More than one hundred people packed the Summit Church parking lot this morning to take a stance on same-sex marriage. Those in the crowd are hopeful an amendment they voted for in 2005, stating that marriage shall be constituted by one man and one woman only, will hold up. It’s a sentiment that Gov. Brownback echoed. “70-percent of Kansans voted to put in your constitution that marriage is the definition of a man and a woman,” said Gov. Brownback. Other state officials took to the podium, delivering a message that could soon become reality. “If we lose the battle you will have to accept the view that marriage can be anything three judges say it is,” said U.S. representative Tim Huelskamp.

The relentless lies of Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback

All politicians spin. They exaggerate and make selective use of facts and data. These are tricks of the trade.

But I have never seen a public official lie as easily and as relentlessly as Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback.

That sounds harsh, and it is possible that Brownback actually believes his own mythology. But much of what he has told the citizens of Kansas is flat out wrong.

Brownback has lied about the fiscal conditions he inherited. He spins a fantasy about a low-tax utopia even as his state is exhausting its budget reserves, staring at more cuts in education, and not experiencing the promised economic rebound. He has salted his administration with sycophants who tell lies of their own.

Where to begin?

Brownback won't explain $500,000 Colyer loans

Gov. Sam Brownback declined to comment Friday on the $500,000 loan from Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer that has moved in, then out, then back in his campaign fund.

A campaign finance report for 2013 showed Colyer, a plastic surgeon, loaned the campaign the money on Dec. 31, 2013, helping push the governor's cash on hand total to nearly $2 million.

The following filing was released July 28. It showed that Brownback's campaign refunded Colyer his money Jan. 2, two days after he loaned it. The campaign then accepted another $500,000 loan from Colyer on July 23, the day before the next filing was due.

Joan Wagnon, chairwoman of the Kansas Democratic Party, called it a "blatant attempt to manipulate voters" by artificially pumping up the campaign coffers in advance of finance reports.

"Sam Brownback has again tried to fool Kansans with a sham loan from his lieutenant governor that fits right into his continued pattern of deception and political tricks," Wagnon said in a prepared statement.

Asked about the rationale behind the loan pattern after an unrelated news event Friday, Brownback declined to explain it.

"No, I can't explain the thought process," Brownback said. "I'm not going to explain the thought process on it."

Wagnon said the loans were a desperate attempt to make the governor's campaign appear stronger than it is to ward off the re-election challenge he faces from House Minority Leader Paul Davis, D-Lawrence.

"Brownback knows Kansans are coming together behind Paul Davis to fix the mess he has made of our budget, our economy, and our schools," Wagnon said. "His only response is to distort and mislead voters."

Kansas Just Created a Second Class of Voters Who Won’t Be Allowed to Cast Ballots in Some Elections!

Kris Kobach, the Secretary of State for Kansas, has decided to move forward with his two-tiered voting system, reports Right Wing Watch. Kobach’s byzantine plan is a massive headache for anyone trying to understand how it works, and is as inelegant as it is bureaucratic — which is par for the course when dealing with Republicans.

By Kobach’s new system, those citizens who registered with a federal voter registration form but didn’t meet the state’s strict citizen definition would still be allowed to vote in federal elections, but barred from voting in state elections. At time he proposed it, Kobach said that it was a “contingency plan”, in the event that the state lost a lawsuit that sought to require “the federal form used in Kansas to include the state’s proof-of-citizenship requirement.” Kobach has since won that lawsuit, but the decision has nevertheless been stayed via appeal, forcing Kobach to go ahead with the two-tiered system that he had planned.

Kobach’s system is a complicated one that appears to require two different forms — a state and a federal form. The federal form is used as a “proof-of-citizenship” requirement, although only one requires citizenship. As Right Wing Watch noted in 2013:

Kobach has been struggling to implement a new law that he backed requiring voters to present proof of citizenship when registering to vote. As a result of the law, over 17,000 Kansans who registered to vote using a federal form (which doesn’t require proof of citizenship) or used a state form but couldn’t dig up a birth certificate have had their voter registration suspended.
. . .The Eagle explains that if the plan moves forward, Kansas voters will be sorted into three categories, each with separate voting rights. Those who provide proof of citizenship with either a state or federal form will be allowed to vote in all elections. Those who register with a federal form and don’t provide supplemental citizenship proof will be allowed to vote just in federal elections. Meanwhile, Kansans who use the state voter registration form but don’t provide proof of citizenship will remain unable to vote at all.

According to Kobach, the good news is that fewer than 100 Kansas citizens who registered with the form but didn’t give proper proof of citizenship would be given full provisional ballots during the primary elections held on August 5. However, only the votes they cast in the federal election will matter. The bad news, that Kobach seems to be conveniently ignoring, is that 18,000 Kansas citizens who registered with the state form but can’t provide the proper documentation will be barred from voting in either election.

Still, Kobach insists that there’s no disenfranchisement. It’s only 18,000 voters, after all. Imagine how many cases of voter fraud this is going to stop — two, maybe three? It’s totally worth the 18,000 disenfranchised voters. They were probably going to waste their vote on a Democrat anyway.

Kansas Secretary of State: ‘Those Darn Widows and Aliens are to Blame for Voter Fraud’

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach thinks widows are to blame for the ‘epidemic’ of voter fraud he is trying to stop with Kansas’ strict voter ID laws. Joining radio host Joyce Kaufman at a recent event hosted by the anti-immigrant group FAIR, Kobach explained how widows and aliens are mucking up the voter process.

“I can’t imagine how many widows are voting for their dead husbands in communities like I lived in,” Kaufman said to Kobach, sending him on a rant about voter abuses.

“Yeah, it happens all the time,” Kobach said, pointing out that there are really three kind of frauders. First, he said are the people who die and stay on the rolls (presumably so their wives can continue voting on their behalf), those that move and enroll to vote in two states, and “aliens.”

These “aliens”, he stressed are “people who were never entitled to vote in the first place.”

In fact, according to the Brennan Center for Justice the types of fraud Kobach is claiming, and in fact all voter fraud, is extremely rare not only in Kansas but around the US. Many of the problems that are claimed to be fraud, they add, are not intentional deception at all, but administrative and voter mistakes.

The NYU based center also points out that requiring identification to vote does not solve the practically non-existent problem of fraud, but it does turn away minorities, something Kobach vehemently denies is fact.

“I think it’s outrageous the argument some make that it hurts minorities. It’s almost a racist argument!,” Kobach said, claiming those who think that are bigoted, not him. “You’re telling me that because of a person’s skin color, he’s less able to find his birth certificate? That’s just crazy to make that argument.”

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."

Catholic Rep. Louis Ruiz Introduces LGBT Non-Discrimination Bill in Kansas House

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."

Tea Party Group Renews Push for Kansas Bill Legalizing Gay Discrimination

A Wichita-based tea party group is attempting to revive a Kansas bill that would allow religious-based discrimination against gays, with the group saying the bill is as much a protection of LGBT rights as it is a protection of the rights of Christians.The bill is currently blocked in the Kansas Senate after a group of Republican lawmakers, including Senate President Susan Wagle, joined the Democrat opposition last week. The Lawrence Journal-World reports:

 

Craig Gabel [pictured], leader of Kansans for Liberty, sent a message addressed to "conservative activists" asking them to contact senators who are refusing to allow a vote on a house bill dubbed the Kansas Religious Freedom Act, The Wichita Eagle reported. […]

“This is not a Christian battle this is a freedom battle, including the freedom of LGBT couples, the sample letter said. "If an LGBT couple owned a meeting space would any of us like to force them to rent it for an anti-gay rally and wedding? Should an African American and his LGBT partner be forced to lease his space or services for a KKK wedding?"

Thomas Witt, executive director of Equality Kansas, blasted the notion that the bill contains anything but pure animus directed at the LGBT community.

"The sophistry is breathtaking," he said. "There's only one target in this bill and it is gay couples."

The only people who would benefit from the legislation are anti-gay individuals who would gain legal protection if they defy their employers and refuse to serve gay couples, he said.

Hundreds Rally In Kansas to Protest Bill Allowing Religious-Based Discrimination Against Gays

Some 250 people joined in a rally outside the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka yesterday to protest against a proposed bill that would have allowed religious-based discrimination against gays. The Lawrence Journal-World reports:

During Sunday's protest, which was organized by the gay rights advocacy group Equality House of Topeka, participants formed two lines behind signs labeled "Second Class Citizens" and "Straight People." The lines went up the south steps of the Capitol.

"We don't judge others," said Dee Moore, of Topeka. "We think all are God's children."

Jeremy Morgan, also a Topeka resident, said when he first heard about the bill, it frightened him that he and his spouse, who were legally married in Iowa, could be denied services.

"We don't want to be humiliated. We want to be treated like everybody else," Morgan said.

The negative publicity surrounding the Kansas GOP’s efforts to legalize discrimination appears to have worked, as several leading Senate Republicans in the state have now blocked the bill in its current form.

Kansas Senate Comes To It’s Senses And Nixes Extreme Anti-Gay Legislation

The Kansas Senate decided on Friday that they would kill the legislation that was passed earlier this week by the state’s House of Representatives. The bill, known as House Bill 2453, would have opened the door to widespread segregation and discrimination of those in the LGBT community. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives, which is overwhelmingly Republican, passed the bill with ease by a vote of 72-49. It was assumed that with a large majority in the state’s Senate and the extremely conservative Sam Brownback as Governor, the legislation was going to fly through and become law.

Well, something happened along the way. Perhaps it was the fact that the law made national headlines and had a lot of blowback. Or maybe it was due to what Andrew Sullivan wrote on Friday regarding what the law would do for the LGBT community. In his column, Sullivan accurately noted that passing a law that so blatantly discriminates gays and treats them like second-class citizens would inevitably be the death knell for the religious right in its attempt to prevent the advancement of gay rights.

Basically, by going forward with this, the gay community could rightly point to this law and compare it to the Jim Crow laws of the South. It also would have an avalanche effect on the GOP, as young voters would be turned off by them for good due to their penchant for bigotry. Sullivan nailed it with the following paragraph:

If the Republican Party wanted to demonstrate that it wants no votes from anyone under 40, it couldn’t have found a better way to do it. Some critics have reacted to this law with the view that it is an outrageous new version of Jim Crow and a terrifying portent of the future for gays in some red states. It is both of those. It’s the kind of law that Vladimir Putin would enthusiastically support. But it is also, to my mind, a fatal mis-step for the movement to keep gay citizens in a marginalized, stigmatized place.

Somebody got a hold of the Kansas Senate President, Republican Sen. Susan Wagle, and told her that this would kill the party nationally if they went through with it. Seeing that the GOP controls the Senate 32-8, and knowing full well that an ultra religious fanatic like Brownback would sign this bill as soon as he could, this had to be stopped while still in the Senate. If this would have carried forward, the negative impact on the national party would have been felt for years, if not decades.

One heartening thing about this whole fiasco is it showed that even a very conservative state like Kansas has its limits. Conservative organizations like the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and the Kansas Employers for Liberty Coalition urged the Senate not to pass this bill, as it would cause all kinds of problems down the road for businesses. People is Kansas were taking to social media and expressing their displeasure with the bill. Overall, it was made apparent to the state’s Republican lawmakers that they had made a drastic overreach with this bill and better pump the brakes before they completely destroyed themselves politically.

Now, this isn’t to say that the state’s Congress isn’t going to revisit this and see if there is away they can still try to protect ‘religious liberty’ while finding a way to offend and discriminate against gays. They just have to try to find a way that isn’t so blatantly obvious that a 4-year old would know what their intent is. 

Kansas Episcopal bishops issue statement opposing House Bill 2453

Some people regularly suggest that the Church should stay out of politics, but we regret to observe that the current political agenda is encroaching upon fundamental principles that Christians, and people of all faiths, hold dear: compassion for the poor, safety for all people and equality for everyone.

House Bill 2453, which is currently before the Kansas Senate, proposes to legalize discrimination against gay and lesbian couples, attributing the excuse for such discrimination as “religious freedom.” In truth, this bill is not about religious freedom but is aimed at creating state-authorized bias and inequality.

Under this bill, government employees could refuse to offer services to their fellow citizens and taxpayers, while claiming religious motives. Business owners could refuse goods and services to people they perceive to be partnered gay or lesbians without repercussion. This proposed legislation is reminiscent of the worst laws that permitted discrimination against people on the basis of color, sex or nation of origin. The intent of this bill is an affront to the beliefs of all Kansans who support equal treatment under the law for every human being.

Kansas history is filled with examples of standing up for the expansion of rights – in our abolitionist, free state roots; as the first state in the country to elect a woman to a political office; and as a place identified with contributing to the end of school desegregation. We have a high calling to provide equality and equal opportunity to everyone.

For Episcopalians, our faith is unequivocal. Our Baptismal Covenant asks, “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself? Will you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being?” Promising to strive for justice and peace among all people and to respect the dignity of every human being requires us to be adamantly opposed to legislation that does none of these things.

Our biblically based faith calls us to live out the command of Jesus Christ to love one another. You cannot love your fellow Kansans and deny them the rights that belong to everyone else.

We urge the rejection of this bill so that our great state might continue to stand for justice, dignity and equality.

In Christ,

The Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe
Ninth Bishop
The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas

The Right Reverend Michael P. Milliken
Fifth Bishop
The Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas

Kansas House passes bill allowing refusal of service to same-sex couples

Denying services to same-sex couples may soon become legal in Kansas.

House Bill 2453 explicitly protects religious individuals, groups and businesses that refuse services to same-sex couples, particularly those looking to tie the knot.

It passed the state's Republican-dominated House on Wednesday with a vote of 72-49, and has gone to the Senate for a vote.

Such a law may seem unnecessary in a state where same-sex marriage is banned, but some Kansas lawmakers think different.

They want to prevent religious individuals and organizations from getting sued, or otherwise punished, for not providing goods or services to gay couples -- or for not recognizing their marriages or committed relationship as valid.

This includes employees of the state.

The politics

The law claims to protect the rights of religious people, but gender rights advocates such as Equality Kansas are dismayed.

Proposed Kansas Bill Would Allow Religion-Based Discrimination Against Gays

Kansas lawmakers are considering a bill from Kansas state Rep. Charles Macheers (pictured) that would protect businesses, groups, and individuals who don't want to serve gay married couples for religious reasons, the AP reports:

The legislator pushing the bill says it's designed to protect religious freedom, and Republican Gov. Sam Brownback is receptive to the idea, though he hasn't yet studied the proposal enough to offer a formal endorsement.

However, critics say the measure promotes discrimination against gays and lesbians, and is so broadly written that it could apply to any couple, gay or straight, with a less-than-traditional union.

The Kansas House's Federal and State Affairs Committee scheduled a hearing for Tuesday morning on the measure. It's not clear how quickly the committee might act on it.

Said Brownback: "I think it's something we that need to protect, our people's religious liberties and religious rights."

According to the ACLU the bill's interpretation could be broad:

Companies offering benefits to legally married gay couples or domestic partners could have their policies blocked by individual employees. She said businesses could make decisions about benefits for straight couples based on whether an owner doesn't think a marriage is traditional enough.

Patrons Rally Around Kansas Waiter Refused Tip for Being Gay, Called a 'Fag'

Restaurant patrons are rallying around an Overland Park, Kansas waiter who was refused a tip from a customer because he's gay, KCTV reports:

The man works at the Carrabba's Italian Grill near 107th Street and Metcalf Avenue. His mother also works as a hostess and she was very upset by what was written on the back of the check earlier this week after he waited on a couple.

"Thank you for your service, it was excellent. That being said, we cannot in good conscience tip you, for your homosexual lifestyle is an affront to GOD. Fags do not share in the wealth of GOD, and you will not share in ours," the customer wrote. "We hope you will see the tip your faggot choices made you lose out on, and plan accordingly. It is never too late for GOD's love, but none shall be spared for fags. May GOD have mercy on you."

Supporters of the waiter, whose story has been spreading on social media, have been pouring into Carrabba's to dine, and urging more customers to do the same. A campaign is underway to flood the restaurant with support on Friday, according to KCTV.

A local pastor, Marvin Baker, is among those supporting the waiter.

Dr. Marvin Baker and his partner had lunch at the restaurant on Thursday and asked to be seated in the server's section.

"I was angry. I said this is not Christian as I know it," Baker said.

Coincidentally enough, the hostess who led them to their seats was the server's proud mother.

"I said, 'We are here to meet your celebrity. The one who was mistreated.' She said, 'That's my son. Would you like a table or booth?' I said, 'Wherever he's serving,'" Baker explained.

Westboro Baptist Church’s local city council to hear gay rights proposal

The city council of Topeka, Kansas – home to the adamantly homophobic Westboro Baptist Church – will this week hear a proposal for a new gay rights initiative in the city.

Chad Manspeaker, Topeka City Councilperson, has proposed that the city’s Human Rights Commission include discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation as part of its remit, a move which would allow the body to raise awareness of discrimination and take steps to help prevent it.

Speaking to the The Huffington Post, Manspeaker said: “This is a small step but a giant first step in showing the world that this is not a town of bigotry and hate but a town of inclusion.”

He added: “In terms of Topeka being an inclusive and open-minded community, we need to take these small steps.”

The Human Rights Commission approved the proposal in June by a 7-0 vote, but it must be approved by the city council before it can be adopted as official policy. The council plans to hear the proposal this week, and has set a provisional date of 17^th September to consider acting upon it.

Manspeaker claimed that the proposal would serve as “the first step towards a larger protection for the LGBT community.”

Topeka is the state capital of Kansas and has served as the home of the Westboro Baptist Church since the group’s establishment in 1955. The church is infamous for picketing the funerals of US military personnel and those it perceives to be supportive of the LGBT community.

Councilperson Manspeaker made it clear that the church’s association with the city was not the motivating factor behind the proposal but nonetheless expressed his satisfaction with it, saying: “Do I run legislation like this because Westboro live in Topeka? No. But it sure feels kind of good.”

Girl, 5, Collects Hundreds Of Dollars For Peace Selling Lemonade Outside Westboro Baptist Church

What happens when a little girl decides to set up a lemonade stand for peace outside the Westboro Baptist Church headquarters in Kansas? Members of the community step out in droves to show support, even as the hate group tries to quash it.
Five-year-old Jayden, the daughter of Jon Sink, founder of the philanthropic arts group FRESHCASSETTE - Creative Compassion, decided to set up a stand selling pink lemonade at The Equality House on Friday afternoon. The Equality House is a rainbow-colored building directly across the street from Westboro's Topeka compound. The house, which was painted the colors of the pride flag in March, was bought by Aaron Jackson, one of the founders of Planting Peace, a multi-pronged nonprofit set up in 2004 and aimed at spreading goodwill and equality around the globe.
Jayden, who is from Kansas City, decided to set up her stand at the Equality House after her parents explained to her the significance of its construct. After being told that the church across the street had a message of hate, she set a goal of raising money to go towards a message of love and peace.
So she painted a banner for the event reading, "Pink Lemonade for Peace: $1 Suggested Donation." She put the stand in the grass and waited. But the waiting didn't take long. Supporters came in by the droves and $1 turned into hundreds of dollars.
During the day, Westboro sent representatives outside to try and find a way to stop the event. They apparently attempted to call the local police and stooped to yelling profanities when that didn't work, like calling a group of soldiers who rode out on their motorcycles to suport the event "bastards."
Westboro's hate couldn't stop Jayden. She not only raised $400 during the day on Friday, but she has also collected over $1000 with an online campaign set up through Crowd Rise. Some people donated as little as $10 and as much as $230. One person gave $26 for every person killed six months ago in the Newtown, Conn., massacre.
"As we all know, the Westboro Baptist Church puts a lot of hate into the world," Jackson told HuffPost in an email Friday. "Since we cannot stop them, the next best thing is to smother it with love. That is what 5-year-old Jayden accomplished today! Jayden set up a lemonade stand in front of the church. Not only did she quench the thirst of a lot of loving supporters, the money she raised was donated to Planting Peace so she could help Planting Peace promote a more peaceful world."
“Jayden represents the natural humanity we are born with," Davis Hammet, Director of Operations at Planting Peace, added. "We come into this world compassionate, caring beings and only become hateful if we are taught to be.”
Click here if you are interested in donating to Jayden's Pink Lemonade Stand for Peace.