Progress slow but sure on marriage bill, death penalty

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The 2005 legislative agenda crafted by the Kansas Catholic Conference could be entitled "Variations on a Theme."

Many of the issues that made the agenda last year are back, but it’s not just the old "same old, same old." Take, for instance, Senate Concurrent Resolution 1601.

This act, which places before voters an amendment to the Kansas Constitution that would define marriage as being between one man and one woman, was narrowly defeated late during last year’s session. But groups supporting the act flexed their political muscle during the last election, and this year the measure powered its way through the House and Senate. Kansans will vote on the measure on April 5. If adopted, it would ban gay marriage in the state.

The Kansas Catholic Conference strongly supported SCR 1601, and encourages Catholics to vote in favor of the amendment.

"The majority of the marriage amendment’s language is taken from existing statutes," said Mike Farmer, executive director of the conference. "Some people think there’s a problem with Part B, which says no relationship other than a marriage shall be recognized by the state as entitling parties to the rights or incidents of marriage. "They say it takes away people’s rights. Part B doesn’t take away rights . . . because those rights are not in existence at this point."

This amendment would not affect common law marriages, prevent a private employer from extending benefits to same-sex partners, or prevent persons from having same-sex unions blessed by churches. Many other rights can also be obtained without marital status, such as joint property ownership and power of attorney, said Farmer. Another variation can be seen on the issue of the death penalty. The conference has called for the end of capital punishment in Kansas since it was reinstituted in 1994. Little progress was seen, however, until recently.

"On Dec. 17, 2004, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the current death penalty law in Kansas is unconstitutional," said Sister Therese Bangert, SCL, who lobbies for the conference. "It’s unconstitutional because the law states that if the mitigating and aggravating factors are equal, the jury must impose death. The court basically held that if these two factors are equal, they must find for the defendant."

The practical effect is that all seven persons on Kansas’s death row are no longer under the sentence of death, she said. Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline asked the court to reconsider its ruling, but on Feb. 3 the justices refused.

"Now the attorney general has 90 days to file with the U. S. Supreme Court an appeal of the Kansas Supreme Court’s decision," said Sister Therese, also a board member of the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty.

"If the U. S. Supreme Court does not hear that appeal, the sentences of the seven persons currently on death row will be vacated. And they will be sentenced to either 40 or 50 years in prison before the possibility of parole, depending on when their crimes were committed."

Bills have been introduced to either fix or repeal the state’s death penalty law. The conference wants the law repealed, not repaired.

"It’s unlikely that there will be any decision from the U.S. Supreme Court during this legislative session, so the legislators have the option of fixing the current statute, repealing it, or doing nothing," she said. "If they don’t fix the current statute, and the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear the appeal, Kansas will not have a death penalty."

The conference continues to place rural life and agriculture issues high on its agenda.

Recently, a conference representative testified in favor of targeting a percentage of the state’s agriculture research funds toward sustainable agriculture. Also, the conference would like for a percentage of the state’s economic development funds to be dedicated for loans and grants for small farms.

Both bills would work toward boosting smaller-scale niche farmers, and encourage local food growth and local consumption. This would help rebuild local food systems.

"The kind of sustainable agriculture research that small and part-time farmers are interested in gets very little federal grant money," said Paul Johnson, a conference lobbyist. "There’s very little grant money for alternative crops to be grown in Kansas beyond the basic grains that we’re familiar with."

With a little grant money, however, the state’s agriculture research program could work toward developing a food-grade oats that could be grown in the state. Similar research could be done for fruits, vegetables and nuts.

"We import 98 percent of the produce that we eat in Kansas," said Johnson. "There are many different fruits and vegetables that we could grow in this state, and we could reap the full economic benefit."

Johnson believes that consumer demand is there for such products, and that better food system planning is needed. He believes that the food system needs the same kind of planning for small-scale agriculture as it does for its highway system.

The conference has a full and long agenda beyond the above-mentioned issues. Catholics can read the agenda and sign up for the conference’s e-newsletter by accessing the conference’s Web site at: www.kscathcomf.org.