Laughter & smiles light up Lawrence City Hall as domestic partner registry launches

Top: Steve Maceli, owner of Maceli's in Lawrence, and his partner, John Connolly, a board member of the Lawrence/Douglas Chapter of the Kansas Equality Coalition, finally get a chance to register their partnership with the city.

Bottom: Some of the crowd at City hall this morning.

Photos by Tom Witt

More on the opening of the domestic partner registry

The Rev. Patrick Rogers, pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Topeka, attended the event to provide support and celebrate the opening of the registry. Rev. Rogers recently moved to Topeka from Houston.

Remember, you don't have to go to City Hall to register. If you are a resident of Lawrence, meet the other criteria, and pay the fee (have your credit card handy), you and your partner can register online.

Domestic partner registry brings smiles to Kansas

Top: Lori Messinger, a board member of the Lawrence/Douglas Chapter of the Kansas Equality Coalition, has a bit of a funny look on her face (blame the photographer, which would be me), but she is exceedingly happy. Lori had a busy day, talking to reporters and participating in this Lawrence Journal-World chat about the new registry. Lori teaches at the School of Social Welfare at KU.

Bottom: Lori and Linda Luckey, another local Equality Coalition board member, organized today's event in honor of the Aug. 1 start of Lawrence's domestic partner registry. Linda works at KU and is the wife of Peter Luckey, senior pastor of Plymouth Congregational Church. The downtown Lawrence church was organized in 1854, and was the first church established in what was then the Kansas Territory.

What's next for Lawrence's domestic partner registry

Both the mundane and, let's say, the profane are expected in the next few months now that the Lawrence City Commission has passed a domestic partner registry.

First up will probably be the mundane. The registry is supposed to go into effect on Aug. 1. The city still needs to determine an exact fee and set up the web site that partners will use to register. As soon as I have details, I'll post them and a link to the registration site. You can read the ordinance here.

What may be profane -- or what dictionary.com calls "common or vulgar" -- is an expected attempt to stop the registry. The Lawrence/Douglas County Chapter of the Kansas Equality Coalition has been hearing for months that someone (don't know who) plans to file an injunction to block implementation of the registry.

This may well happen, but right now I'm personally a bit uncertain it will. Although the battle was long and hard and took a ton of work, the opposition proved itself to be fairly toothless by the time the whole thing was over. On the other hand, it never pays to underestimate the commitment of our opponents.

I'm more concerned, though, about a renewed attempt in the Kansas Legislature to pass a bill banning domestic partner registries throughout the state. Introduced by Olathe Republican Lance Kinzer, the bill was passed by an ultra-conservative House committee last session.

When the Legislature goes back into session in January, Kinzer's bill could go to a quick vote by the full House, which is largely conservative. The bill would still have to pass the more moderate Senate, but I would prefer that we never have to engage in that fight.

Kansas Equality Coalition Chair Thomas Witt reminds us that "the work is not done," and he's right.

I propose a short break for everyone to catch their breath, and then renewed commitment to the fight. One important way to get involved is to become a member of the Equality Coalition. It only costs $15.

Becoming a member not only provides financial support for the group, but it also proves to decision makers that everyday voters support our goals. The truth is that many do, but our opinions have often been drowned out by the screams of the religious right.

BREAKING NEWS: The 1st domestic partner registry in Kansas history is law

[updated 7:19 p.m.]

The Lawrence City Commission just took it's third and final vote on the registry. As before, the ordinance passed 4-1. This is historic.

There was no discussion. The whole thing was over with in less than 5 minutes.

For the first time in Kansas history, same-sex couples have a means of getting public acknowledgment of their relationships. This is not a symbolic gesture. This means that domestic partners will have access to health insurance and other benefits offered by their partners' employers.

The registry goes into effect Aug. 1. Details on the new registry can be found in the approved ordinance. The registry is open to both same-sex and heterosexual couples, but is only available to residents of Lawrence. Couples will register online and pay a fee, which has not yet been determined.
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[update]

Even though tonight's vote was over in minutes, it took months of grassroots effort to win the registry. Kudos to Maggie Childs and the rest of the Lawrence Chapter of the Kansas Equality Coalition. You did very well indeed!

Gay Kansas & the Greensburg tornado

Here's a myth about rural America: Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered people simply don't exist out on the ranches and farms of the Heartland. If we do exist, we are hidden and tortured souls. If we're out, we're shunned or stoned or worse. At the very least -- this myth claims -- there isn't a straight ally in sight.

Here's the reality: We're here, we're queer and people are truly getting used to us.

I'm not going to downplay the difficulties of being GLBT and living in the vast stretches of flyover country, whether you do that as an out gay person or in the closet. But what has amazed me, particularly in the last five years, is how an increasing number of queer folks are out and integrated into rural communities. Meanwhile, our straight allies are growing in number every day.

In my work with the Kansas Equality Coalition, for example, I've met transgendered ranch hands (male to female) and, no, I'm not kidding and, yes, they are currently (as in today) hard at work as real-live cowboys. I've met lesbian and gay ranchers. The Equality Coalition's most rural chapter in Southwest Kansas (centered around Dodge City) is one of our fastest growing chapters and one of the most active.

Unfortunately, though, it often takes tragedy for the rest of the world to discover we're here. Such is the case of Fred Burgess and his late life partner, Jim Mathes. In early May when a tornado decimated nearby Greensburg, the couple's rural home, Prairie Oaks Farm, in neighboring Edwards County (2006 estimated population 3,138) was blown apart by another storm.

It has been a horrible year for Burgess. In March, Mathes died at age 73 of pancreatic cancer. At the same time, Burgess was diagnosed with lung cancer. Burgess has said he won't rebuild.

The story of the couple and the loss of Prairie Oaks Farm was first reported by The Hutchinson News and then taken up by Associated Press and flashed around the state. The story has been reprinted many times.

In that report, Mathes and Burgess are treated with deep respect. The story portrays their loss of each other and Burgess' loss of his home the way any tragedy should be treated. It is a soulful, sad, loving story. The story's tales of former Christmas parties and cooking classes at Prairie Oaks Farm also tell of lives well lived and valued by their communities.

The very ordinariness of all of this is what makes it revolutionary, but then again, LGBT people are no different than anyone else. We simply want to live our lives.

Meanwhile, straight allies who are members of the Equality Coalition lived in Greensburg and lost their home. The chair of the Southwest Kansas Chapter is working to pick up the pieces of her therapy practice, which once was housed in Greensburg. The chapter, along with the state board, continues to work to help the town.

The Liberty Press reports in its June issue about a son of Greensburg, freelance photographer and theatrical director Troy Dilport, who now lives in Wichita. The Press printed some of his photos of his devastated hometown. Both his mother's and sister's houses were destroyed by the tornado. Unfortunately, The Liberty Press doesn't post much of its issue online, so I can't link to any of the material about Greensburg.

My deepest sympathies to all who lost loved ones, homes, jobs, cars, their town. May you all get the help you need to recover. May we learn that underneath whatever differences we may have, we all love, live and are vulnerable to loss the same.
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PHOTO: This is taken from a photo of our not-so-beloved president flying over Greensburg. I cropped out the helicopter and left in the view of the town. Somehow, George W. didn't seem as important.

Kinzer says he won't stop trying to ban domestic partner registries

File this one under the so-what-else-is-new category: The Kansas Legislature's leading right winger says he won't give up on his push to block Lawrence and other Kansas cities from being fair to LGBT citizens.

At issue is Lawrence's impending passage of a domestic partner registry. Already anointed by a 4-1 vote, the registry is expected to pass two more votes and become a reality on Aug. 1 or thereabouts.

Note that this registry is nothing more than a list of names. Note also that all it does is allow people -- both straight and gay -- to gain access to insurance and other benefits their employers already offer.

Most folks call that being fair. But to Rep. Lance Kinzer the simple act of saying that people who are couples (some for decades) are, well, couples is horrifying. The KC Star reports:

But there are opponents, including one Kansas legislator who vows to push legislation next session to undo what Lawrence is doing and keep other towns from enacting similar registries.

“I think the city of Lawrence is doing this just to make a political statement,” said Rep. Lance Kinzer, an Olathe Republican who fears that the ordinance could lead to a challenge of the state’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages. “I don’t think it does on its face, but the potential is there.”

In the just completed 2007 session, Kinzer was the only sponsor on a bill to ban registries. While the bill made it out of one of the most socially conservative committees in the House, it never made it to the House floor for a vote. Apparently, there wasn't enough support to bring it up.

One warning, though. Never underestimate the power of the right to pass anti-gay legislation. That's why joining the Kansas Equality Coalition and helping the coalition in its Statehouse work is important.

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PHOTO: Lance Kinzer