ADAM BEAM

Associated Press

FRANKFORT, Ky. - Kentucky businesses could refuse services to gay, lesbian or transgender clients in the name of protecting religious beliefs under a bill advancing in the state Senate.

The bill comes after the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission ordered a Christian T-shirt company to get diversity training for refusing to print shirts for a gay pride festival. A state judge overturned the order, but an appeals court is reviewing the case.

“All of these business owners want to treat everyone with full dignity and respect. But their conscience and religious beliefs prevent them from using their skills to promote a celebration that runs counter to what the Bible teaches about marriage,” said Republican Sen. Albert Robinson of London, the bill’s primary sponsor.

The bill is the latest effort of lawmakers in some states to react to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last summer that effectively legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The Georgia legislature is considering similar legislation, and the Missouri legislature is considering amending its state constitution to protect businesses that decline to provide goods or services for same-sex marriage ceremonies or celebrations.

The bill, written in part by the Family Foundation of Kentucky, would also ban courts from jailing someone or holding them in contempt of court for refusing to provide services. Last year, a federal judge found Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis in contempt of court and jailed her for five days for refusing to obey his order that she issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This bill would not apply in that situation, since Davis is an elected official and her case was handled in federal court.

Eight Kentucky cities, including Lexington, have passed so-called “fairness ordinances” that prohibit discrimination based on someone’s sexual orientation. The Lexington human rights commission ruled the T-shirt company, Hands On Originals, violated this ordinance.

Efforts to pass a statewide fairness law have stalled. The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the bill last week, but the sponsor, Democratic Rep. Mary Lou Marzian from Louisville, did not ask for a vote because she said it likely would have failed.

“This is a clear ploy by the Family Foundation to rescind discrimination protections for gay and transgendered Kentuckians in the eight cities where we have achieved them,” said Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign in Kentucky. Hartman added, “Should the Kentucky General Assembly pass this license to discriminate, it will have untold negative effects on our commonwealth’s tourism, economics, and business development.”

Robinson’s bill, however, faces obstacles from some Republican senators. Senate budget committee chairman Chris McDaniel of Taylor Mill and Republican Sen. Max Wise of Campbellsville said they support the bill but could not vote for it because the Senate has a longstanding policy of not passing acting on bills that deal with issues tied up litigation.

The Senate committee also advanced a bill that would allow public schools to put on artistic or theatrical programs with religious themes. The bill is in response to a Johnson County elementary school that edited a student production of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” last year.

The popular play based on a 1960s TV special includes the character of Linus reciting a passage from Luke 2 in the Bible. School officials removed the Biblical passage from the performance, citing Supreme Court rulings that prevent public schools from endorsing a particular religion.