LAWRENCE, Kansas – Former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius says she was surprised and distressed by Gov. Sam Brownback’s decision to rescind an executive order that offered protections for LGBT state employees.
In a speech at the Dole Institute in Lawrence Thursday, Sebelius said she signed the executive order protecting LGBT state employees in 2007 to signal that Kansas wanted a diverse and talented workforce and was a tolerant state.
Brownback rescinded the order Tuesday, saying that such changes should be made by the state Legislature.
Sebelius also called Brownback’s efforts to eliminate the state’s income tax to increase business and job growth in Kansas “a colossal failure,” and said she’s concerned that the state is on a long-term downward economic spiral because of its multi-million dollar budget deficit.
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LGBT rights supporters are planning a weekend rally at the Kansas Statehouse to protest Brownback’s’s action.
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