Jordan Palmer is an American

social activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

, Kentucky politician, civil rights activist, entrepreneur, and the founder of the

Kentucky Equality Federation Kentucky Equality Federation is an umbrella organization for LGBT rights in the United States, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender civil rights in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, consisting of Federation for Kentucky Equality, Inc., Kentucky Equ ...

. Palmer is from

Hazard, Kentucky Hazard is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in, and the county seat of, Perry County, Kentucky, Perry County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 5,263 at the 2020 Census. History Local landowner Elijah Combs, Elijah Comb ...

and is credited for having

Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 1 Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 12004 Election ...

(banning same-sex marriage), being struck down by a Kentucky judge, pushing the first hate crime convictions under the

Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is a landmark United States federal law, passed on October 22, 2009, and signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009, as a rider to the National Defense Auth ...

, and holding the first equality protests against a sitting governor and members of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form ...

. Palmer was the first openly gay person to run for the Kentucky Senate.

Personal life

Palmer is the son of a Church of Christ minister.

Gay rights

In early 2006 Jordan founded Kentucky Equal Rights (later renamed Kentucky Equality Federation by a majority vote of its members) to advance the interests of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Palmer also served as on the Board of Directors and the Executive Vice President of Development of

Marriage Equality USA Marriage Equality USA was an organization working for the legal recognition of same-sex marriage in the United States. The group worked by doing public education and outreach, media campaigns and holding visibility events. Marriage Equality, Inc. ...

based in San Francisco, California from 2007-2009.

Kentucky Equality Federation

Denied Marriage Licenses

In February 2009 Palmer organized gay and lesbian couples going to county court clerks offices in Kentucky to apply for a same-sex marriage license only to be denied. Palmer told the media his intention was to raise awareness of Kentucky's ban on same-sex marriages. The action was condemned by the Family Foundation of Kentucky, which Palmer dismissed as "another example of how so-called family organizations are some of the most useless, money-hungry scams in the world with their bizarre and all-encompassing 'gay fetish.'" Palmer later organized churches refusing to sign marriage licenses until gay marriage was recognized in Kentucky.

Marriage Equality Lawsuit

On September 10, 2013 the Kentucky Equality Federation sued the Commonwealth of Kentucky in Franklin Circuit Court claiming Kentucky's 2004 Constitutional Amendment banning

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

violated sections of the commonwealth's constitution. Case # 13-CI-1074 was assigned by the Franklin County Court Clerk (the location of the

Kentucky State Capitol The Kentucky State Capitol is located in Frankfort and is the house of the three branches (executive, legislative, judicial) of the state government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic P ...

). The lawsuit was conceived by President Jordan Palmer, written and signed by Vice President of Legal Jillian Hall, Esq. Palmer stated to the media that: Governor Steve Beshear's legal representatives initially responded by citing foreign laws, and that gay and lesbian people could not reproduce as a reason to quash the lawsuit.

Ruling

On April 16, 2015, Kentucky Equality Federation v. Beshear also known as Kentucky Equality Federation v. Commonwealth of Kentucky was ruled on by Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Thomas D. Wingate. Judge Wingate sided with Kentucky Equality Federation against the Commonwealth and struck down Kentucky Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriages. Judge Wingate also struck down all laws passed by the Kentucky General Assembly. At the request of Governor

Steve Beshear Steven Lynn Beshear (born September 21, 1944) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 61st governor of Kentucky from 2007 to 2015. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1980, was the state's 44th atto ...

's legal representation, the Judge also placed a stay on the order pending a ruling from a Kentucky appellate court (such as the Kentucky Court of Appeals or Kentucky's court of last resort, the Kentucky Supreme Court) or the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. The lawsuit was a significant victory for the Kentucky Equality Federation and the

civil rights movement.

Marriage Equality USA

Palmer served on the board of directors of

from 2006-2009. Palmer worked across the state of California to fight

2008 California Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned in cour ...

. During and after the No Prop 8 Campaign, Palmer told

change.org Change.org is a worldwide nonprofit petition website, based in California, US, operated by the San Francisco-based company of the same name, which has over 400 million users and offers the public the ability to promote the petitions they care abo ...

and

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

that he was concerned that the organization didn’t utilize the grassroots community to its potential and recognizing the harm associated with a campaign run by political consultants without sufficient accountability or transparency to the larger community.

First Hate Crime Convictions

When Kevin Pennington was attacked in the Appalachian mountains, Palmer demanded the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

prosecute his assailants under the U.S. Matthew Shepherd and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Palmer succeeded and was active in the preparation of the trail. David Jason Jenkins, of Cumberland, and Anthony Ray Jenkins, of Partridge, was indicted and convicted in U.S. District Court in London, KY. After the trial, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky promised to step-up hate crime conviction, a move hailed as progress by Palmer.

Politics

Palmer stepped down in 2012 from the Kentucky Equality Federation. In 2014, he ran running for Kentucky State Senate, being the first openly gay person in Kentucky to do so. Palmer lost to the incumbent and returned to lead the Kentucky Equality Federation and its member organizations.

Other

On July 14, 2011, Matthew Vanderpool, the first openly gay person to run for the Kentucky House of Representatives, and Palmer's roommate, committed suicide. Palmer was also the campain manager for Vanderpool. Palmer continues to be an advocate for equality across Kentucky and the United States. On July 09, 2021, Palmer threatened to sue the Leslie County Board of Education in Southeastern Kentucky for not allowing a lesbian couple to attend prom together and painting over a pride flag.

References

External links

Official WebsiteKentucky Equality FederationJordan Palmer on TwitterJordan Palmer on FacebookJordan Palmer on Instagram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Jordan American LGBT rights activists LGBT rights in the United States Kentucky Democrats People from Hazard, Kentucky Year of birth missing (living people) Living people LGBT people from Kentucky 2014 in Kentucky Discrimination in the United States Hate crime