Count us as among the folks who are pleased that Gov. Andy Beshear stood up to criticism he received from a Republican lawmaker for posing for photos during a gay rights rally in the Capitol late last month.
Beshear is the first sitting governor to attend the rally, which has been held annually since the 1990s.
Sen. Phillip Wheeler (R-Pikeville) said his problem is not with the gay movement but the outfits — one of which included horns and another consisting of a KFC bucket crafted to look like a nun’s habit — worn by drag queens in photos taken with the governor. He said they were indecent and “mocked the Christian religion and traditional values.”
During his remarks at a campaign event for last week’s special election for an eastern Kentucky House seat, Wheeler went on to say, “This is not only a fight for the soul of America, it is a fight against evil, for just the forces of decency.” He also accused Beshear and the Democratic Party of “corrupting the values of children.”
Seriously? Over a KFC bucket and horns?
The governor quickly called the senator’s remarks “homophobic” and said Wheeler owes each of the gay rights activists an apology. “They are as much Kentuckians as anybody else,” Beshear added.
To his credit, Beshear said he would pose for the photo again, adding it’s a matter of faith, morals, and doing what’s right.
“It’s time to move beyond the hatred and the division and treat everyone the way that they’re supposed to be treated,” he remarked.
We couldn’t have said it better.
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Cross-posted from the State Journal via the Kentucky Press News Service.