About Us
The Fairness Campaign is Kentucky’s LGBTQ advocacy organization founded in 1991 by 10 Louisvillians. Its primary goal is comprehensive civil rights legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and to dismantle systemic racism. With the help of the Fairness Campaign, 24 Kentucky communities and counting have enacted Fairness Ordinances outlawing LGBTQ discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. Today, the Fairness Campaign works in cities all across Kentucky to advance LGBTQ rights and acceptance through legislative advocacy and public education.
Kentucky communities with LGBTQ Fairness Ordinances include Louisville (1999), Lexington (1999), Covington (2003), Vicco (2013), Frankfort (2013), Morehead (2013), Danville (2014), Midway (2015), Paducah (2018), and Maysville (2018), Henderson (2019), Dayton (2019), Georgetown (2019), Versailles (2019), Bellevue (2019), Highland Heights (2019), Fort Thomas (2020), Woodford County (2020), Cold Spring (2020), and Newport (2020), Crescent Springs (2021), Augusta (2021), Fort Mitchell (2021), and Elsmere (2022).
Two additional communities have approved partial Fairness Ordinances—Ashland (housing protections) and Cynthiana (housing and public accommodations protections).
In the Kentucky General Assembly, the Fairness Campaign works to advance LGBTQ laws and stop anti-LGBTQ legislation like the “License to Discriminate” and “Bathroom Bill” targeting transgender people. The Fairness Campaign is a member of the Fairness Coalition, which includes the ACLU of Kentucky, Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, and Lexington Fairness. The Fairness Campaign is the Kentucky member of the national Equality Federation, a coalition of statewide LGBTQ civil rights groups across the U.S. In 2013, the former Kentucky Fairness Alliance merged into the Fairness Campaign, strengthening the unity and impact of LGBTQ work in the commonwealth.
Vision Statement of the Fairness Campaign
The Fairness Campaign seeks to dismantle oppression and build an inclusive community where all individuals are valued and empowered to reach their full potential. We are a broad, diverse community of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people and allies committed to transforming society and building a more just world.
Core Values of the Fairness Campaign
- We believe gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer people have the right to respect, dignity and full equality.
- We believe that dismantling racism is central to our work.
- We believe that all issues of oppression are linked and can only be addressed by working in coalition.
- We believe in non-violent, grassroots organizing that empowers individuals and build a social justice movement that creates lasting change.
Mission Statement of the Fairness Campaign
The Fairness Campaign is a broad-based community effort dedicated to equal rights. Its primary goal is comprehensive civil rights legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. The Fairness Campaign accomplishes its goals through public education and advocacy, political activity, community building and reciprocal alliances with others in the social justice community.
Mission Statement of the Fairness Education Fund
The Fairness Education Fund’s mission is to initiate and develop projects that broaden community awareness and understanding of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity and expression. Educational efforts focus on reducing prejudice against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people by providing accurate, truthful information to counter societal myths and stereotypes. Moreover, the Fairness Education Fund will work to promote justice and equality for all people regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, gender, race, faith, age, disability status, socio-economic status, or immigration status. The Fairness Education Fund has been designated a 501(c)3 publicly supported organization by the Internal Revenue Service. Contributions are tax deductible as allowed by law.