Anti-gay law in Kansas not taken up

Just as I've started to write the earlier post and really think about what we can do - to which I have come to no conclusion - to improve the relationships between religious groups and the lgbt community from a sociological perspective, some good news have come out of the Kansas anti-gay bill. 

Word from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Jeff King is that they will not be taking up House Bill 2453 at all. 

The bill allows citizens to deny services to same-sex couples if it goes against their strongly held beliefs.

"Proponents said the bill was designed to provide protection from lawsuits for small-business owners who refused to offer services for same-sex weddings on religious grounds," reports the Kansas City Star.

"But the bill extended to public as well as private employees, and critics accused it of being discriminatory."

What this means is that even public servants are allowed to deny same sex couples service. This includes people working at hospitals, the civil defense team, and practically every place you can  pay for something. 

If it were simply so that churches won't be bound by law to have to hold weddings for gay people, I'd understand. Extending it to every single person in the state is downright absurd. 

Here are some interesting responses I found:

I'm just glad the bill didn't pass. Read more at:  http://www.kansascity.com/2014/02/18/4833023/kansas-senate-kills-controversial.html

-Timothy Lastname

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/02/18/4833023/kansas-senate-kills-controversial.html#storylink=cpy