Kansas doubles down on its anti-gay bigotry instead of joining the civilized world

By Michael J.W. Stickings

What's the matter with Kansas? What the fuck is the matter with Kansas? Well, in large part because of its Republican majority, it's a shithole of bigotry, and while much of the rest of the country moves to eliminate discrimination, this fucked-up state prefers to entrench it:

Denying services to same-sex couples may soon become legal in Kansas. 

House Bill 2453 explicitly protects religious individuals, groups and businesses that refuse services to same-sex couples, particularly those looking to tie the knot.

It passed the state's Republican-dominated House on Wednesday with a vote of 72-49, and has gone to the Senate for a vote.

Such a law may seem unnecessary in a state where same-sex marriage is banned, but some Kansas lawmakers think different.

They want to prevent religious individuals and organizations from getting sued, or otherwise punished, for not providing goods or services to gay couples -- or for not recognizing their marriages or committed relationship as valid.

The bill's proponents and others who share their anti-gay views can try to spin this as being about religious freedom, about the "right" to oppose homosexuality, but when you strip away that veneer of bullshit what this really is is bigotry, plain and simple, and the state's authorization of discrimination. And it's just as bad that the target is same-sex couples as it would be if it were, say, Jewish couples or mixed-race couples.

Kansas, grow the fuck up.