Month: July 2015

by Stephen Koranda, KHI News Service

The state of Kansas is changing its stance on health insurance benefits for same-sex spouses of state employees.

Previously, members of Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration had declined to change state policies, saying they were still studying the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage.

Sara Belfry is a spokesperson with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which manages state employee health insurance.

“After legal review of the Supreme Court decision, we have started accepting applications for same-sex spouses of state employees to be eligible for the state employee health plan,” she said Tuesday.

Belfry said there’s a special one-month open enrollment period for same-sex spouses to apply for health benefits. She said state officials continue to study changes in other areas, such as Medicaid health care benefits.

Later Tuesday, Brownback issued an executive order on religious liberty. It prohibits state government from taking discriminatory action against any “individual clergy or religious leader” or “religious organization” that chooses not to participate in a same-sex marriage.

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Gov. Sam Brownback today issued an executive order that states any individual clergy leader or any religious organization will not be required to perform a gay marriage.

The executive order stated that state government is prohibited from taking any action against individual clergy or religious leaders or any religious organization “that chooses not to participate in a marriage that is inconsistent with its sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman.”

The executive order comes after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage recently.

In a response, the ACLU stated in a news release that the governor’s executive order was not needed.

“We are deeply disappointed by the Executive Order issued today, which is unnecessary and harmful,” said Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, in a news release. “Religious institutions have never been required to marry anyone outside their faith traditions. Allowing same-sex couples to marry—as the U.S. Supreme Court has now ruled is the law of the land in all 50 states—does not change that in any way, and so today’s Executive Order is unnecessary.

“Today’s Executive Order is, however, deeply harmful in that it sanctions discrimination against loving, committed same-sex couples by all manner of religious organizations using taxpayer funding. As a result of Executive Order 15-05, a homeless shelter that received a state contract or grant could refuse family housing to a gay couple with a child, or a foster care agency could refuse to place a child in their custody with the child’s family member just because the family member was in a same-sex relationship – and the state could not require them to treat all families equally. In addition, singling out just one form of religious beliefs about marriage poses serious constitutional concerns.”

The governor issued this statement today: “We have a duty to govern and to govern in accordance with the Constitution as it has been determined by the Supreme Court decision. We also recognize that religious liberty is at the heart of who we are as Kansans and Americans, and should be protected.

“The Kansas Bill of Rights affirms the right to worship according to ‘dictates of conscience’ and further protects against any infringement of that right. Today’s Executive Order protects Kansas clergy and religious organizations from being forced to participate in activities that violate their sincerely and deeply held beliefs.

“While we disagree with the decision of the Supreme Court, it is important that all Kansans be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.”

Kubic of the ACLU continued: “The governor’s action today is reminiscent of another ill-advised, discriminatory law – HB 2453 [known as the Religious Freedom Act], which Kansans emphatically rejected in 2014.

“The ACLU of Kansas will continue to closely monitor the implications of this damaging executive order.”