Todd Eklof, minister of Clifton Unitarian Church in Louisville, spoke to his congregation in late 2004 about the importance of putting an end to discrimination. He vowed to stop performing marriage and commitment ceremonies for all couples until the anti-gay marriage amendment passed in 2004 is overturned.
Kentucky Farm Bureau (Todd’s employer) didn’t like this stance and fired Eklof shortly thereafter. KFB has claimed in court documents for nearly three years that he was fired for attendance and performance issues, though Eklof has consistently been able to prove (via court documents that are publicly available, No. 05-CI-09390, Jefferson Circuit Court Division 8 ) otherwise. (Read the full story here)
Rev. Eklof’s luck changed in May of this year when Sam Moore, president of KFB at the time of Eklof’s dismissal and a current member of its Board of Directors, admitted under oath that Kentucky Farm Bureau fired Todd Ekloff for being supportive of gay marriage.
Page 29 of the deposition, lines 19 and 20, Moore says in response to the question of why Eklof was terminated, “The marriages, I think. I think that was the main thing.” Click here for the complete deposition.
On September 4, 2007, Eklof sent a press release detailing the admission to every major press outlet in Kentucky. No one covered the story. Not so much as a mention. Kentucky Farm Bureau has one of the largest lobbying entourages in Frankfort and claims to be the “Voice of Kentucky Agriculture” and no one covered the story of admitted discrimination and violation of the Fairness Ordinance.
Where is the mainstream media? Why aren’t the Courier-Journal or Herald-Leader covering this matter? Where are the major television news operations? Why is the story being ignored? Could it have something to do with Kentucky Farm Bureau being one of the largest advertising forces in the state? Are news organizations afraid of losing advertising dollars as a result of coverage? KFB has been known to throw its weight around in the past and it seems likely that the same thing could be happening here. We’ll never know unless the media wakes up.
Further, why is Kentucky Farm Bureau, an organization solely in place to further the interests of farmers and agriculture, advocating against gay marriage in its policies handbook?
Everything about this story stinks. We’ll wait to see if the press ever touches it.
9 responses so far ↓
1 JDTZR // Sep 18, 2007 at 12:30 pm
And why is Kentucky Farm Bureau advocating against abortion and pornography in their policies handbook? Isn’t that out of their purview?
2 Yellow Dog // Sep 18, 2007 at 1:42 pm
JDTZR - you beat me to it! But note the “antidiscrimination” policy also includes the racist, anti-affirmative-action code phrase “opposed to granting special privileges to anyone.”
Wow. Racist/sexist, misogynistic/anti-freedom, homophobic, anti-First Amendment AND tight-assed Puritans.
Anybody checked out the men’s room stalls at the Farm Bureau lately?
3 Michelle // Sep 18, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Thanks so much for covering this. This is important stuff and I’m glad someone is paying attention.
4 Steve Magruder (I, not D or R) // Sep 19, 2007 at 12:37 am
I just recalled that my mother has their auto insurance. I may just encourage her to check out the gecko. Heh.
5 Wrapping Up a Big Week in Media « The ‘Ville Voice // Sep 21, 2007 at 5:15 pm
[…] * Meanwhile, WHAS was the only station bothering to cover a blatant case of homophobic discrimination at Kentucky Farm Bureau. Seems a few years back, the conservative insurance company fired an employee for having an open mind on the issue of gay marriage. Todd Eklof sued, and the truth came out in court. Seems the venerable institution has plenty of discriminatory language in its employee handbook as well. So why wouldn’t the mainstream media cover a story involving a hot topic like gay marriage? Could it be they fear retaliation from a major advertiser? Page One […]
6 anonymous // Sep 23, 2007 at 1:48 am
Further, why is Kentucky Farm Bureau, an organization solely in place to further the interests of farmers and agriculture, advocating against gay marriage in its policies handbook?
Probably because the National Education Association’s official positions include being pro-abortion and anti-Second Amendment.
7 Patrick Buck // Sep 25, 2007 at 12:07 am
It’s always disturbing to see petty bigotry, but I’m an out gay man and have had a pleasant life here in Lexington KY for nearly 20 years. However, bigotry and intolerance are not the exclusive perview of the political Right. Take “affirmative action” for example. It’s a form of discrimination. So to an extent is hate crime legislation. Sure, there need to be statistics kept on how many people are committing violent acts against gays because we are gay, but if such people get a longer sentence for beating up a gay person than for beating up someone whom they think let their dog poop on their yard, that’s not equal justice under the law. It’s already highly illegal to go around beating people up. And yes, I’m a proud registered Republican and yes, most of my friends are straight. I’ve found that many leftist gays are just as intolerant as the Religious Right and do the same thing they do: demonize people who disagree with them! I acknowledge discrimination and seek to do my part against it, in part by supporting the Log Cabin Republicans, but it’s a pretty safe bet that if a gay individual is not happy, it’s not the fault of the Religious Right or the marriage amendment, it’s the person’s own fault, and even if it’s not, it’s the individual’s responsibility to deal with the situation in a productive way. I was not one bit happy about the marriage amendment, but I didn’t even let it ruin my day.
8 jake // Sep 25, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Sorry, but, uh, hate crimes legislation doesn’t require sentences be greater than those of other, similar crimes. It requires that hate crimes actually be considered CRIMES. Without hate crimes legislation most crimes against those who are disabled, gay, etc aren’t prosecuted. They’re blown off.
Most legislation is in the form of non-discrimination ordinances/clauses, anyway, which make it illegal to discriminate. Not more illegal.
A proud Registered Republican Wiccan, you mean? Or self-hating gay man? Craaaaaazy.
9 Butch M. // Nov 3, 2007 at 2:57 pm
I could add a great deal of debate and furor over the discriminatory policies and actions of Kentucky Farm Bureau against it’s employees. There also is an instance where they constructively discharged an employee when they discovered by accident that he had been diagnosed with the early onset of Alzheimers.
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