Sawyer versus Graves
Who’s the best pick on queer issues?
by Mike Silverman, Lawrence

Kansas gubernatorial candidate Tom Sawyer recently met with gay actists from Lawrence, Topeka, and Kansas City and answered questions about how he stood on LGBT issues.

Among some of the highlights:

* He favors repealing the sodomy law in Kansas.
* He would veto any bill sent to him which would restict the rights of qualified gays and lesbians to adopt children.
* He favors the passage of an amendment to the Kansas Civil Rights Act which would add sexual orientation as a category for which discrimination is illegal.
* He would issue an executive order forbidding discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the Kansas state government executive branch.
* He would do as much as he could in his power as governor to provide domestic partner benefits to state employees (some benefits may require legislative action).

For the record, Sawyer also voted against the same-sex marriage ban in 1996, and faced heat in his last campaign because of this. Nonetheless, he stuck to his commitment for equality and didn't back down.

Sawyer's positions on these issues make him probably the most pro-equality candidate in the history of Kansas. We all ought to put our support behind him and get out to vote in November -- and encourage others to do the same. The governor's race is only "hopeless" if we all decide to stay home that day.

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