Tag Archives: Kentucky

Two of the teenagers charged in the nation’s first-ever federal anti-gay hate crime case pleaded guilty today in a Kentucky court. Alexis Leeann Jenkins and Mable Ashley Jenkins, who goes by Ashley, pleaded guilty to one charge of kidnapping and one charge of aiding others in causing bodily injury to Kevin Pennington of Letcher County because he is gay. The …

Talking Points Memo reports: For the first time in history, the United States has issued an indictment in hate crime case involving a crime against an individual based on their sexual orientation, the Justice Department said Thursday. A federal grand jury in London, Ky., returned a three-count indictment charging David Jason Jenkins, 37, and Anthony Ray Jenkins, 20, for kidnapping …

Americans United for Separation of Church and State are protesting the plan to provide $11M in Kentucky state road improvements to support the Christian theme park where the centerpiece attraction is an alleged replica of Noah’s Ark. “The Highway-36 appropriation is intended to promote and support a religious, evangelical enterprise, violating the separation of church and state and the Kentucky …

Republicans in the Kentucky House Education Committee today squashed an anti-bullying bill because it would help prevent gay children from killing themselves. The vote came after parents and friends of teenagers who killed themselves to end incessant school bullying told lawmakers about the need for stronger protections for all students. Several lawmakers on the panel contended that existing anti-bullying laws …

The Kentucky Senate has passed a bill granting broad exemptions to people who disobey state laws on the basis of religious objections. The sponsor of Senate Bill 158, Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, said it is designed to protect the free exercise of religion from unnecessary restriction by government. He said it would give courts “more ammunition in favor of religion” …

A small church in Kentucky is making national news after banning interracial couples from becoming members. The church member who crafted the resolution, Melvin Thompson, said he is not racist and called the matter an “internal affair.” “I am not racist. I will tell you that. I am not prejudiced against any race of people, have never in my lifetime …

Kentucky’s Ark Encounter theme park, whose replica of Noah’s Ark will be “actual size,” just got a huge present from the city. The city of Williamstown in Grant County has agreed to give a biblically themed amusement park a property tax discount of 75 percent over the next 30 years. Mayor Rick Skinner said the offer is laid out in …

Unbelievable. Activists in Kentucky are planning a peaceful response after two gay men with developmental and intellectual disabilities were kicked out of a public pool. A maintenance technician reportedly cited the Bible while telling the two men they couldn’t swim at The Pavilion, a government-funded recreational facility in Hazard, Kentucky. “We own this place and can tell you to leave …

Kentucky’s Creation Museum seems to be off to a slow start raising the $24.5M needed for their “full-scale” replica of Noah’s Ark. Therefore they’ve begun selling parts for the ark in a program in which devotees can pledge from $100 for an “authentic wooden peg” up to $5000 for a “gopher wood beam.” Just so you know.

The parent company of Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut is lobbying the Kentucky government to allow the use of food stamps in their stores. Currently Kentucky’s Food Assistance Program provides money to those in need to buy food — but that does not include fast food. Yum! says the elderly, disabled, and homeless should be able to use food …

As soon as Kentucky’s Creation Museum finishes their “full-scale replica” of Noah’s Ark, they’re going to build an accompanying Solomon’s Temple, but “it’s not going to be some sort of secular temple where all sorts of weird religious ceremonies are held.” Whew! Also on the drawing plans, the Tower Of Babel.

Libertarian nutjob Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) brought the crazy today when he grilled an Obama administration energy official, asking if she was pro-choice. Because conservationists like her are stopping him from choosing the super-toilet he needs. So she’s not really pro-choice, is she? Or something. There’s a joke here about Kentucky and outhouses.

Tea Party-backed Kentucky state GOP Rep. Mike Harmon wants to make it legal for Christian students to bully gay kids about their sexuality. And he’s filed an amendment to a pending anti-bullying bill that says so. Harmon has filed an amendment that would allow students to condemn other students’ sexual preferences as long as that expression of a religious belief …

On Friday a couple gay was turned away from a special “Date Night” event at Kentucky’s Creation Museum after being told that their presence would add an “un-Christian element” to the venue. Blogger Joe Sonka describes his evening: I rushed back from DC to my old Kentucky home last night to attend the spectacular “Date Night at the Creation Museum”, …

Surely just an unfortunate typo, right?

According to the vice president of Answers In Genesis, there will be animals on Kentucky’s “recreation” of Noah’s Ark, but only babies. Because God was all about saving space. “We think that God would probably have sent healthy, juvenile-sized animals that weren’t fully grown yet, so there would be plenty of room,” he said. ”We want to show how Noah …