To: Governor Matt Bevin
veto HB279 ‘religious freedom’ bill
If this bill is signed into law, it could allow for challenges to existing anti-discrimination such as Fairness laws and could also be used to challenge civil rights for people of color, reproductive rights for women, and the civil rights of other protected classes of individuals. This petition comes asking Governor Beshear to veto HB279.
Why is this important?
Full impact of this bill has not been studied. This legislation is “a sword to be used against minorities” and is unconstitutional. This legislation could justify discrimination with legal authority to do so. The Constitutions of Kentucky have, since 1792, assured the citizens of Kentucky freedom of worship according to their own conscience, unless “dangerous or detrimental to the lives, safety or health of the participants or to the public.” HB279 as worded, has the potential to deprive certain citizens of the Commonwealth of their freedom to exercise their own rights of autonomy.