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Monday, June 25, 2007

Republican vows to stop Lawrence's new domestic partner registry

To no one's surprise, Rep. Lance Kinzer said today he will once again try to ban domestic partner registries statewide.

Lawrence's new registry goes into effect Aug. 1 for both same-sex and heterosexual couples. Even if he succeeds, Kinzer couldn't get the Legislature to pass a ban until the session starts in January. If that happens, a victory by Kinzer would demolish a registry that would already have been functioning for months. A victory by Kinzer would declare null and void the registrations of many couples.

The bill by the Olathe Republican was approved last session by a committee in the House. However, it never made it to a vote of the full House. The ban would have to be passed by the House and then get through a Senate committee and the full Senate before going to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for her signature. Sebelius has not said whether or not she would sign such a bill.

A domestic partner registry does nothing more than allow couples to access benefits their employers already offer to them. It is nothing more revolutionary than a list of names. Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison has already said that Lawrence's registry is constitutional, even with the state ban on same-sex marriage.

If you want to be part of stopping Kinzer's attempt to keep Lawrence couples from getting insurance and other benefits, join the Kansas Equality Coalition and become a part of the fight for fairness.

2 comments:

uncle george said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
uncle george said...

Hope that guy's hair transplant works better in the future ...

[edited for spelling -- ]