Meredith Richey

Meredith Richey, the Republican candidate running for the Kansas Senate from Lawrence, led a political group in California that actively opposed same-sex marriage and other laws aimed at protecting people from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

That’s not something she mentions directly in her campaign material as she campaigns to unseat Democratic Sen. Marci Francisco of Lawrence in the 2nd District Senate race.

But she does allude to it on her LinkedIn page where she lists among her previous experiences being the founder and president of United Families California, a state chapter of United Families International, which she describes as “supporting traditional family values.”

Meredith Richey

“During my time in California I dealt head on with issues that affected schools and parental rights related to the State Family Code,” Richey states on her campaign website. “I began to find out how bills that appeared innocent and needed were actually disastrous public policy. There were numerous attempts to silence my voice of opposition, but I would not cower. Ultimately I ran a state organization and lobbied with other NGOs (non-governmental organizations) at the United Nations in standing up for the family.”

In 2004, Richey helped found the California chapter and served as its president until 2008, when she and her family moved to Kansas, according to her LinkedIn page.

During that time, several gay rights issues were debated in the California Legislature, including efforts in 2005 to pass legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in California. At that time, no state had passed similar legislation. Massachusetts was the only state in which same-sex marriage was legal, and that was due to a state Supreme Court ruling.

Richey and United Families California lobbied against that legislation.

By June 2005, Richey wrote in a call to action on a religious website, the bill had failed narrowly twice in the lower chamber of the Legislature.

“However, with the aggressive tenacity and legal maneuvering that has marked the same-sex marriage battle across the nation, the bill’s lead author Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, said the backers will take one more shot at having the bill voted on today,” Richey wrote.

The bill eventually passed in September that year but was vetoed by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican.

Richey is a graduate of Brigham Young University in Utah, a school that is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon Church, which was also politically active opposing same-sex marriage in California, and many of the things Richey wrote at that time were posted on LDS-related websites.

The LDS Church officially opposes same-sex marriage and holds the doctrine that “sexual activity should only occur between a man and a woman who are married.”

The church’s official doctrine goes on to say, “that should never be used as justification for unkindness,” and “the Church firmly believes that all people are equally beloved children of God and deserve to be treated with love and respect.”

In 2006, there were proposals in Congress to pass a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. That year, then-Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts wrote an open letter to the Senate supporting the measure, and his letter was circulated within religious media, such as the Lundberg Company website.

Richey posted a comment on that site expressing her support for Romney’s position.

“I hope people realize that that all the propaganda they hear about ‘civil rights,’ ‘equal rights’ and ‘tolerance’ is just that, propaganda from a well funded special interest group, the gay rights lobby,” she wrote. “The truth is that it is never about being against anyone, but protecting what will give our children a more secure future–a stable home with a father and a mother.”

Richey was also vocal in opposing a 2006 California bill known as the Bias-free Curriculum Act, which prohibits schools that receive public funding from sponsoring activities or from using textbooks or other materials that “reflect adversely” on people based on their sexual orientation.

California already had a law prohibiting such activities based on their race, sex, color, creed, handicap, national origin or ancestry. Senate Bill 1437 added sexual orientation to that list.

“This bill will require schools to indoctrinate children that homosexuality, bi-sexuality and transgenderism are normal, healthy and acceptable lifestyles and conditions,” Richey wrote about the bill in an email later posted on the religious website LDS Patriot. “It now goes to the California Assembly where it will likely be the subject of hearings by several different committees.”

The bill passed both chambers of the California Legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Schwarzenegger.

By 2008, just as Richey and her family were moving to Kansas, the issue of same-sex marriage was becoming a national debate. That year, Californians voted on Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry. Kansas voters had approved a similar constitutional amendment in 2005.

Records from the California Secretary of State’s office show that although Richey and her family had relocated to Kansas that year, she contributed $100 to a campaign in support of that measure.

The Kansas marriage amendment passed statewide, 70-30 percent, in a spring election normally reserved for municipal government seats and school boards. But in Douglas County, voters rejected it by a 63-37 percent margin.

The Journal-World attempted to reach Richey by phone and email Monday and Tuesday, but she did not respond to questions about her comments and activities in California before the paper’s news deadline.

In response to a Lawrence Journal-World questionnaire that will be published Sunday as part of the paper’s voters guide, Richey did respond to a question about her position regarding gay rights.

“Should businesses and public agencies in Kansas be required to treat all individuals equally, regardless of sexual orientation, or should the state allow individuals and businesses to deny services to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individuals or couples on the basis of religious beliefs?” the questionnaire asked.

“Individuals should not be discriminated against based on race, creed, color or sexual orientation,” Richey replied.

In response to the same question, Francisco said she opposed religious freedom bills that have been proposed in the Legislature.

“One of the roles of government is to make sure that everyone has equal opportunity,” Francisco said. “I support adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the Kansas anti-discrimination statutes.”