Mark Kennedy, and our Board of Regents, would like us to ignore Mr. Kennedy\u2019s LGBTQ+ voting record.\u00a0 We appreciate that he publicly stated he has since changed a number of his positons related to LGBTQ+ rights.\u00a0 However, we can\u2019t ignore the fact that LGBTQ+ people continue to face discrimination and harrassment on a daily basis in large part because of actions like those taken by Mr. Kennedy.\u00a0 We ask that our Board of Regents not ignore this fact, either.<\/p>\n
In 2002, recognizing that because same-sex partners could not legally marry and thus were denied the same health care benefits as other members of our community, CU\u2019s Board of Regents voted to begin offering health care benefits to same-sex partners because, as Regent Bob Sievers said, \u201cUnless all of us are treated equally, none of us is treated equally.”<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in 2004 and 2006, Mark Kennedy was voting to enshrine discrimination in our nation\u2019s Constitution by voting to ban same-sex marriage and define marriage as between one man and one woman.\u00a0 CU has continued to show leadership in the University\u2019s treatment of LGBTQ+ members of the CU community, including the University\u2019s expansion of health insurance benefits to cover care for transgender employees and CU\u2019s position as the only university to sponsor Denver PrideFest\u2013the largest LGBTQ+ pride festival in the Rocky Mountain Region. Mr. Kennedy has not shown the same level of leadership during his time in Congress or academia.<\/p>\n
Our committee prides itself on its intersectional work, including co-hosting symposia with the Faculty Council Ethnic and Minority Affairs Committee to provide our community with a forum for discussing how, as Dr. King asserted, \u201cinjustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.\u201d Therefore, we are also troubled by his apparent lack of support for Black and Latinx students, women, faculty members conducting particular types of medical research on our campuses, and DACA students.\u00a0 For example, during his interview at UCF, when asked whether or not he supports DACA students, Mr. Kennedy chose not to answer in the affirmative.\u00a0 Instead, he said that if an issue arose he would \u201csit in the chair as UCF President and act in the chair as UCF President, not as Mark Kennedy[i]<\/a>.\u201d In light of our own leaders\u2019 clear declarations of support for DACA students[ii]<\/a> we are quite disturbed by this admission.\u00a0 Just this morning, in an interview on CPR, when asked about his position on Affirmative Action Mr. Kennedy replied: \u201cCan I not answer that question?\u00a0 You caught me off-guard.\u201d This, again, is not the response of someone who can lead on Diversity and Inclusion efforts.<\/p>\n In light of both his past and current record, we ask you to reconsider your support for Mark Kennedy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sincerely,<\/p>\n The LGBTQ+ Committee of Faculty Council, 2018-2019<\/p>\n