Tag Archives: Kansas

With the backing of Kansas State University, the city commission of the small town of Manhattan, Kansas, known locally as the “Little Apple,” has narrowly approved a sweeping LGBT rights ordinance by a vote of 3-2. The vote was hotly followed across major anti-gay websites as a possible harbinger of the continued march for equality out of the big cities …

Iraq war veteran and double-amputee Ryan Newell has been released from jail in Topeka, Kansas after police arrested him last week for stalking members of the Westboro Baptist Church in a car laden with several guns and almost 100 rounds of ammo. Ryan Newell, 26, of Marion, had been held on $500,000 bond since his arrest last week after Sedgwick …

An 26 year-old veteran who lost both his legs in Iraq has been charged with stalking members of the Westboro Baptist Church after police found him following the Westboro family van in a car stocked with handguns, a rifle, and dozens of rounds of ammunition. Sedgwick County sheriff’s detectives arrested Newell mid-morning Tuesday in the Wichita City Hall parking lot …

My alma mater UCF is facing some wild weather at their game against Kansas State today. More amazing photos here.

The Kansas Equality Coalition writes us today to report that Dan Manning, a Democratic candidate for the state legislature, has had death threats posted to the front door of his home. As many of you know, one of our Equality Coalition members, Dan Manning, is running for Kansas House of Representatives in Wichita. Originally from southern Georgia, Dan is a …

The Kansas House has approved a “covenant” marriage bill which will make divorce much more difficult to obtain for couples who have agreed to such a union. Language creating the option was added Thursday to a bill on common law marriage. The House gave the bill first-round approval. Proponents say the option would strengthen marriages in Kansas. Couples choosing covenant …

Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) used the phrase “great white hope” when describing the search for the next GOP superstar. Uh, whooops!

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), upset about all those centaurs ravaging the Kansas plains, has submitted a bill banning the creation of animal-human hybrids. From the hilarious Jeff Vrabel: Republican Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas and the dark side of Neptune and 2008 presidential candidate for exactly 24 minutes (less time than Fred Thompson, just in case you were worried that …

After Dr. George Tiller was murdered in his church yesterday, all eyes turned to Bill O’Reilly, who has railed against Tiller on his show 28 times since 2005. Via Salon: But there’s no other person who bears as much responsibility for the characterization of Tiller as a savage on the loose, killing babies willy-nilly thanks to the collusion of would-be …

Dr. George Tiller, the nation’s most famous abortionist and the subject of decades of protests and lawsuits, was shot to death today at his Wichita, Kansas church. Tiller, 67, was shot just after 10 a.m. at Reformation Lutheran Church at 7601 E. 13th, where he was a member of the congregation. Witnesses and a police source confirmed Tiller was the …

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) is likely to be chosen as Secretary of Health and Human Services – provided she doesn’t pull a Daschle. Should she be nominated, Ms. Sebelius would bring eight years of experience as her state’s insurance commissioner as well as six years as a governor running a state Medicaid program. But with President Obama about to …

Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, Kansas has a Gay and Straight Alliance club and last year elected an openly gay homecoming king. And yesterday, hundreds of its students poured into the streets to counter-protest the Westboro Baptist Church. The school’s administration and principal worked with local police and dismissed classes so that these hundreds of beautiful future …

Activists in Kansas are trying to get a bill adding sexual orientation and gender identity protections out of committee. “It’s clear that the time has come to extend the same protections from discrimination to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people that so many other Kansans already enjoy,” said Maggie Childs, of Lawrence, board chair of the Kansas Equality Coalition. The …

Via SFGate.com: GOP Rep. Sam Graves unveiled an ad this week using the money phrase to disparage his Democratic challenger Kay Barnes, aka the “Big City Mayor” (formerly that is, of Kansas City.) Barnes’ sin: She attended a fundraiser thrown by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and she shares Pelosi’s “San Francisco Values.” You know what that means. Or at least …

From Kansas, a really sweet story about a gay homecoming king: There’s no way I’m homecoming king. No way, he thought. Sarah helped him walk to the middle of the stage, where Laura Wetzel, the queen, crowned him and gave him a big hug. “That’s awesome, Matthew!” she said. Matthew’s cheeks were red, and his face hurt from smiling so …

In what some had billed the “Million Fag March”, hundreds of protesters marched on the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka yesterday. Hundreds of people from Kansas and across the country gathered Sunday in Topeka to protest Pastor Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church. The march was also a way to promote peace, love, and equality. People of all ages, …

The son of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) is selling “Don’t Drop The Soap“, a prison-themed board game in which players try to not be raped. John Sebelius, 23, is selling the game from the Kansas governor’s mansion where he lives with his parents. From the game’s site: Fight your way through 6 different exciting locations in hopes of being …