The Williams Institute

Kentucky has no laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, though there have been several unsuccessful attempts to amend the state’s civil rights statute to protect such classes. However, in 1999, local ordinances banning discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations due to a person’s sexual orientation were passed in Louisville, Lexington-Fayette County, Jefferson County, and Henderson.1 In 2003, a similar ordinance was passed in the City of Covington. In 2008, Governor Steve Beshear reinstated an Executive Order banning discrimination of state employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity.