Tag Archives: Kansas

The Kansas City Star reports: Three men accused of plotting to bomb a western Kansas mosque say their rights are being violated by the exclusion of jurors from more politically conservative areas. Attorneys for the three men say in documents filed in federal court in Wichita that the jury selection procedure is discriminatory and “excludes rural and conservative jurors.” When …

The Kansas City Star reports: President Donald Trump has appointed Gov. Sam Brownback to an ambassadorship, a little more than a month after the Kansas governor saw his signature tax policy dismantled by the state’s Legislature. Trump announced Brownback’s appointment as ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom Wednesday evening. Brownback had long been expected to be named to the post. “Religious …

Here’s what really happened in Kansas yesterday: Republican Ron Estes will be the next congressman from the state of Kansas, but his victory Tuesday night did not come as easily as many expected in the deep-red state. GOP strategists warned in recent days that Democrat James Thompson, a civil rights attorney, was in striking distance against Estes, Kansas state treasurer …

The Kansas City Star reports: The House has advanced a resolution condemning pornography – warning that it treats women as objects, lowers the desire to marry and can lead to erectile dysfunction. The chamber advanced the resolution Wednesday on a voice vote. The yes votes were much louder than the no votes. It has no binding legal effect. The resolution …

Curiously, Donald Trump did not mention this attack during his CPAC speech this morning. The Washington Post reports: A 51-year-old man faces first-degree murder charges after shooting three men in an Olathe, Kan., bar Wednesday night, police say, reportedly telling two of them, local Garmin engineers from India, to “get out of my country.” One of the Indian men, Srinivas …

The Kansas City Star reports: The investigation into a Kansas terror plot targeting Muslims has allegedly uncovered an extensive collection of child pornography, according to federal authorities. The pornographic images were found on computer equipment seized from the Kansas home of one of the three men charged with plotting to bomb a Garden City, Kan., apartment complex and mosque, according …

NBC News reports: The Equality House in Topeka, Kansas, which stands directly across the street from the notoriously anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church, has been a symbol of the LGBTQ rights movement since it was first painted Pride flag colors in March of 2013. This week, however, the colorful symbol of equality was subjected to hate when spray-painted slurs and bullet …

The Huffington Post recaps: Bill Maher ripped into the GOP’s policy of cutting taxes for the rich on Friday night. The “Real Time with Bill Maher“ host said the state of California was proof that doing the reverse, and instead raising taxes on the most wealthy, could actually lead to a booming economy. The comedian gloated about how The Golden …

From Wichita’s ABC affiliate: Wichita police released surveillance video Wednesday of a reported attack on two Wichita State students at a Kwik Shop convenience store near the WSU campus. Khondoker Usama, an alleged victim, stands by his story that a hate crime was committed against him and a friend after seeing the video. “It strengthens my side of the narrative,” …

Super Saturday’s projected winners are rolling in. Taking the Democratic caucus in Kansas is Bernie Sanders. And Ted Cruz picked up two more wins today, taking the GOP caucuses in Maine and Kansas. The remaining Super Saturday states should have their results within the hour.

The GOP holds caucuses today in Kansas, Kentucky, and Maine. Democrats hold their caucuses in Nebraska and Kansas. Both parties have their primaries in Louisiana. If you are voting or caucusing today, weigh in below and share your experience.

Via the Wichita Eagle: The same-sex spouses of state employees are now eligible for the state’s health insurance plan, according to a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. A same-sex spouse of a state worker or public university employee can now apply to be added to their spouse’s plan through the agency or school’s human resources department. …

Late yesterday Wikipedia briefly turned Kansas sapphire after Equality Kansas and others reported that state agencies had finally begun recognizing same-sex marriages. Those reports were hotly denied by the Brownback administration and Wikipedia quickly reverted Kansas to its lone holdout purple status. This morning Equality Kansas is asking for help: We have statements from LGBT Kansans that they have either …

Not so fast, says the Topeka Citizen-Journal: Married same-sex spouses will be able to join the state’s employee health plan, an Emporia State University spokeswoman said Monday – though the state agency overseeing the plan denies that they are now eligible. Gwen Larson, Emporia State University spokeswoman, said the university had received notification earlier in the day that same-sex spouses …

It’s almost one full week after Obergefell and Kansas remains the lone purple holdout in Wikipedia’s otherwise all–sapphire marriage map. Here’s why, via the Kansas City Star: Republican Gov. Sam Brownback said Thursday that he’s considering proposing a new religious objections law for Kansas following the U.S. Supreme Court’s legalization of gay marriage, and he defended his administration’s cautious response …

The attorneys general of fifteen states have filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in which they predictably argue that a ruling in favor of same-sex marriage will “irretrievably” destroy their right to self-government. From the brief:  The Constitution takes no sides on same-sex marriage, and therefore leaves the issue up to the free deliberations of state citizens. The …

Family Research Council BFF and US House Rep. Tim Huelskamp (above) is best known around here for his attempts to block marriage equality and LGBT rights. But the “family rights” advocate now has a major in-house problem. Via Topeka’s CBS affiliate: A staffer for a Kansas congressman is in jail charged with 17 counts of sexual exploitation of a child. …

The editors of Wikipedia’s marriage equality page today introduced purple-shaded states to reflect the “complicated” situations in Kansas, Missouri, and Alabama. Most counties in Alabama had issued same-sex marriage licenses for several weeks after a federal court legalized same-sex marriage, but all have stopped in response to a conflicting order by the state supreme court. However, the state court did …

Hundreds of Kansans protested against Gov. Sam Brownback today in a rally held at the state capitol building. From the Topeka Capitol-Journal: Organizers in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community arranged the protest on short notice after Gov. Sam Brownback announced Tuesday that he would rescind an executive order issue by former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius that prevented some state …