FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2015
CONTACT:
Micah Kubic, ACLU of Kansas, 913-490-4101, [email protected]
Thomas Witt, Equality Kansas, (316) 683-1706 [email protected]
Opponents of Taxpayer-Funded Discrimination Will Call on Legislature to Reject SB 175
TOPEKA – Organizations from across the state will gather on Wednesday, April 29, to urge the Kansas Legislature to reject SB 175, a controversial and unnecessary bill that would force public universities to support student organizations that discriminate.
The bill creates a special right for associations to discriminate based on “religious freedom,” and was very narrowly passed out of the House Committee on Federal and State Affairs earlier this month. If adopted, the bill would mean that taxpayers would be required to fund student groups that discriminate based on age, race, color, religion, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other characteristic the group chooses.
A broad coalition of the bill’s opponents will gather outside of the Kansas Statehouse to call for SB 175’s defeat.
“Already this year, in Arkansas and Indiana and elsewhere, we’ve seen attempts to use religion to discriminate against others. With SB 175, Kansas will allow taxpayer dollars to fund discrimination,” said Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas. “We are asking the Kansas Legislature to stand up and say that Kansas does not support discrimination, and to prevent the state from becoming the next target of national outrage.”
“Beyond education, the university experience is about learning how to work and live with people from all walks of life,” said Thomas Witt, executive director of Equality Kansas. “Teaching college kids it’s okay to discriminate against each other, and on the taxpayers’ dime, is a bad idea.”
WHO: ACLU of Kansas, Equality of Kansas, National Organization for Women, Americans United, Mainstream Coalition, student voices, faith leaders from across Kansas
WHAT: Press conference
urging the Kansas Legislature to reject SB 175
WHEN: 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, April 29
WHERE: State Capitol, south lawn
For more information, contact Micah Kubic at (816) 994-3314 or Thomas Witt at (316) 683-1706.
###