Are you considering a move to Topeka, Kansas? The city actually has a lot to offer, even if Kansas itself does seem like it’s more conservative than you might like. If you employ the services of a gay or lesbian real estate agent, you’ll find that there are a lot of great properties for sale in Topeka. But what’s it like living there? Here’s some information on the LGBT culture in the city.
Kansas, Topeka, and LGBT Rights
Kansas has been somewhat slow in removing barriers to LGBT rights. The state had laws against consensual same-sex activity on the books up until 2003 when Lawrence v. Texas made those laws invalid across the country. Fortunately, the Kansas legislature not only complied with the ruling, but actually took it a step further and changed their own statutory rape laws so that same-sex and opposite-sex cases were treated the same.
The state did ban same-sex marriage in 1996, making it one of the earliest states to do so. This ban was later reinforced with a constitutional amendment in 2005. In 2014, one same-sex couple applied for and was granted a marriage license, but the state quickly took steps to prevent that from happening. However, once Obergefell v. Hodges was settled in 2015, the issue became moot.
The state has passed a number of anti-discrimination laws that cover sexual orientation and gender identity. However, these laws have always been put into place by executive orders from the governor, which means the current governor can rescind or replace the orders as they see fit. Between 2007 and 2015, these laws were in place, but in 2015, the anti-discrimination protections were nulled by Governor Sam Brownback. Fortunately, Topeka and a few other cities did put protection in place.
Topeka was one of the few cities prior to that to offer domestic partner registries. Despite this, the city doesn’t really have a gay ghetto per se. There are a good number of different gay bars, restaurants, and other LGBT-owned businesses in the city, though. It’s definitely one of the more liberal areas of Kansas. Kansas does have hate crime laws that protect people on the basis of sexual orientation, but they do not include gender identity.
As you can see, while some areas of Kansas may not offer as many protections as others, Topeka is one part of the state where LGBT people are not at the mercy of others as much. If you’re looking to move to Kansas, this is one of the cities you should have on your list of potential homes.