Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Kansas Leads the Way
"Study Kansas history," says Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline. "We were at the forefront of the abolitionist movement, the women's suffrage movement, prohibition…. Then we got conservatism and recognized the importance of faith."
"In many ways," Kline says, "Kansas leads the nation on social issues. And always will."
In the fall of 2003, Kline demonstrated the kind of leadership he has in mind. He issued an impassioned defense of a Kansas law that subjected sexually active teens to much steeper criminal penalties if they were gay.
Stephanie Simon an LA Times staff writer reports that in a legal brief, Kline argued that the state should
"In many ways," Kline says, "Kansas leads the nation on social issues. And always will."
In the fall of 2003, Kline demonstrated the kind of leadership he has in mind. He issued an impassioned defense of a Kansas law that subjected sexually active teens to much steeper criminal penalties if they were gay.
Stephanie Simon an LA Times staff writer reports that in a legal brief, Kline argued that the state should
"punish a boy who had sex with an underage boy more harshly than a boy who had sex with an underage girl because the heterosexual couple might some day marry, and "marriage creates families" — a desirable outcome for the state.
"Treating "same-sex or bestial contact" the same as Romeo and Juliet pairings "will begin a toppling of dominoes which is likely to end with the Kansas marriage law on the scrapheap," he wrote."
